The highly-anticipated biopic chronicling the career of Madonna has been scrapped.
According to an exclusive from Variety, the film is no longer in development at Universal Pictures to accommodate the pop icon’s upcoming world tour.
“Insiders familiar with Madonna said her sole focus is the tour,” said Variety, “but she remains committed to making a film about her life one day.”
The biopic, which was announced in 2020, was written by Juno director Diablo Cody and had Amy Pascal attached as producer. Madonna was set to direct the film, with Julia Garner in the lead role.
Garner is best known for role as Ruth Langmore in Netflix’s crime drama Ozark, for which she received widespread critical acclaim and two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination.
More recently, the actress was lauded for her role as Russian-born German con artist Anna Delvey in Netflix’s miniseries Inventing Anna, for which she received further Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
The actress won the role over stars such as Florence Pugh (Black Widow), Alexia Demie (Euphoria) and Odessa Young (Shirley), as well as musicians Bebe Rexha and Sky Ferreira.
In a 2022 interview with Variety, Madonna said it was important for her to make “an extraordinary film” as a result of her “extraordinary life”.
“It was also a preemptive strike because a lot of people were trying to make movies about me. Mostly misogynistic men. So I put my foot in the door and said, ‘No one’s going to tell my story, but me,'” she said.
“I have a very long script that is really hard for me to make shorter. I’ve been whittling away at it, but it’s like hacking off my limbs.”
Madonna’s new tour will celebrate her unrivalled catalog of hits from the past 40 years.
On 17 January, the icon announced The Celebration Tour with a viral video paying homage to her trailblazing film Truth or Dare, featuring stars such as Diplo, Jack Black, Bob the Drag Queen, Kate Berlant, Larry Owens, Eric Andre and Amy Schumer.
Produced by Live Nation, the 35-city global tour commences in North America on Saturday 15 July at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, with further stops in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Miami, L.A. and more.
European cities include London, Barcelona, Paris, Stockholm and Amsterdam, where the tour will come to a close on Friday 1 December.
Since her 1982 debut, Madonna has sold over 300 million records, making her the best-selling female artist of all time and, with a revenue of over $1.5 billion from concert tickets, the highest-grossing female touring artist.
In a statement, she said: “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for.”
The tour will also offer a “one-of-a-kind experience” with special guest star Bob the Drag Queen, who won the eighth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race before starring in HBO’s Emmy Award-winning series We’re Here.
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