Inventing Anna star Julia Garner has officially been cast to portray Madonna in the popstar’s upcoming biopic. Florence Pugh, Sky Ferreira, Alexa Demie, Bebe Rexha, and Odessa Young were all in contention for the lead role in the Madonna biopic and have for months been speculated as a frontrunner for the part — a performance Madonna will shepherd herself as director. Garner’s team is considering and expected to accept the offer.
The project is under Universal Pictures and follows the early days of the oft-controversial artist and queen of perpetual reinvention. Amy Pascal will be the producer and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley won the script in a multi-studio bidding war.
During an announcement, Madonna told that she hoped to “convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer — a human being, trying to make her way in this world. The focus of this film will always be music. Music has kept me going and art has kept me alive. There are so many untold and inspiring stories and who better to tell it than me. It’s essential to share the roller coaster ride of my life with my voice and vision.”
Garner is best known for her roles in the FX drama series The Americans (2015–2018), the Netflix miniseries Maniac (2018), the Bravo true-crime series Dirty John (2018–2019), and plays the title role in the Netflix miniseries Inventing Anna (2022).
