Julia Garner Reveals Shelved Madonna Biopic Is ‘Still Supposed To Happen’

The prolific actress was set to play Madonna in 2022, however the biopic was reportedly scrapped the following year.

July 29, 2025

Julia Garner at "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" World Premiere held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on July 21, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Julia Garner has become one of the most prolific actresses of our time, but she’s still set on the role she feels she was meant to play.

During an episode of the SmartLess podcast that dropped on Monday, July 28, Garner revealed she still has plans to play music icon Madonna. She was previously set to play the “Vogue” hitmaker in a biopic titled Who’s That Girl, which was to be produced by Madonna herself and written by Diablo Cody.

However, in 2023, Variety reported that Universal Films had scrapped the film. But according to Garner, fans can look forward to seeing her embody Madonna on screen in the future.

“That’s supposed to still happen,” Garner said when SmartLess host Sean Hayes brought up the biopic.

Through the process, the Ozark actress has made a friend in Madonna. The two have been spotted partying and hanging out many times since the film was put on hold.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Garner said she’s “such a fan of Madonna” and that she “grew up listening” to her music. She also revealed how she ended up auditioning for the movie.

“It just came about,” Garner said. “I knew they were doing a project, making a movie about it, and then I went out to audition. I kind of just wanted to see if I could do it, because I wasn’t a trained dancer and I had to learn how to dance and then dance in front of her and convince her that I can dance, basically, and sing. And sing with her!”

Several actresses and singers reportedly vied for the role of Madonna, including Sydney Sweeney, Florence Pugh, Alexa Demie, and Bebe Rexha. However, Madonna saw something in Garner. And according to Garner, the actress went about the audition exactly as Madonna would.

Garner remembered that she asked herself, “‘OK, what would Madonna do?’ Which is convince you that she deserves, you know, to be in this room, and I owned it. I was kind of like, ‘You can take it or leave it, but if you leave it, if I leave, then that’s on you.'”

Last July, Madonna teased on Instagram that she was back to working on a script on her life story. While all signs seem to indicate that the biopic is on the way, Garner hinted that it might be a while before the movie makes it to the screen.

“Anything that’s great … takes a long time,” she said.