Madonna is preparing the release of her milestone 15th album, “Confession II”, a follow-up to her highly regarded 2005 LP, “Confessions on a Dance Floor”. Now, weeks before the new work is due to be released, the 67-year-old is opening up about his failed biopic, which was scrapped in 2023 despite Julia Garner is tapped to play the music legend.
Madonna opened up for Interview Magasinet in June 2026 about the film and why it failed. Discussing her involvement in the film, she said, “I was going to make a movie about my life. I worked on my script for two years and spent two years at Universal Studios with the line producers doing budgeting and casting.”
As for why the film didn’t go ahead, the “Express Yourself” singer said, “We had an argument, me and Universal, about budget, because I needed — I’ve had an extraordinary life. I’ve had a huge life, so I needed a big budget. You know what I mean?”
She then stated that the executives at the film studio “couldn’t wrap their heads around” the budget she believed would be necessary to properly tell her story.
The ‘Confessions II’ singer wanted to find ways to lower the budget
Madonna did not disclose figures regarding the planned budget for her still-unfilmed biopic. However, she said she was willing to make changes to production to reduce costs. The icon said that she wanted to find “a way to earn it for less money in Serbia.”
According to her, “Maybe they just didn’t believe me. One of their first reactions was, ‘We don’t think you’d stay in Serbia more than four days.’ And I said, ‘Have you read the script?’ My whole life has been survival. I don’t go there on vacation. But still, I was in limbo when it fell apart, and then Netflix reached out to do a series.”
Regarding Netflix, she stated, “It was a whole different long process because I couldn’t use the script I had with Universal unless I bought it from them for a blackmailer’s price, even though I wrote it. Don’t ask.”
Reflecting on the situation, Madonna said, “It’s just the way it goes.”
Fans still want to see Madonna’s story told
Madonna is among the most influential pop stars of all time. Because of this, as well as the recent success of “Michael,” fans believe the movie will still happen. However, others believe that her life is so big that a multi-part mini-series might be in order. Still, some wonder what she would have seen as a viable budget.
One person said: “Madonna certainly has a story that spans decades, genres and cultural moments. It’s easy to see why she would feel a traditional biopic would need a big budget to capture her entire life and career.”
Another wrote: “It’s an unfortunate setback for fans who were eager to see her story on the big screen. Few artists have had the impact of Madonna and telling that story properly would be an ambitious task.”
Another Madonna fan chimed in, writing: “So big, she should know it’s going to be a miniseries with possibly 2 to 3 seasons. Not a movie.”
Julia Garner Opened Up About 2025 Madonna Biopic
Garner was offered the role of Madonna in 2022. After accepting, the actress went through a rigorous preparation process, including a grueling boot camp. In July 2025, years after the film was announced as scrapped, Garner said “SmartLess” podcast that it still had to be produced.
According to her, “it’s still supposed to happen.” Regarding going for the role, Garner revealed, “I kind of just wanted to see if I could do it, because I wasn’t a trained dancer, and I had to learn to dance and then dance in front of her and convince her that I can basically dance and sing. And sing with her!”
It’s worth noting that Garner may have been referring to the Netflix series Madonna mentioned, which is not currently in the works.
The music legend’s new album arrives in July
Madonna officially announced “Confession II” in April 2026, after signing a new contract with Warner Records in September 2025. From there, the first taste of the album arrived with the song “I Feel So Free”, released on April 18.
Since then, Madonna has released the singles “Bring Your Love”, a duet with Sabrina is a carpenterand the latest offering, “Love Sensation.” The album will be released on July 3.
