Music

Madonna Explains Why Her Biopic Was Canceled

Madonna reveals her biopic was canceled due to a budget dispute with Universal Pictures, stating "I've had a huge life, so I needed a big budget." She also addressed the status of a planned limited series adaptation."

Rolling Stone·Jun 22, 2026·via Rolling Stone

Madonna Explains Why Her Biopic Was Canceled

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Madonna Says Her Biopic Was Killed After a ‘Falling Out’ With Universal Pictures Over Budget

"I’ve had a huge life, so I needed a big budget," the pop star said in a new interview, where she also discussed the fate of a planned limited series adaptation

By Jon Blistein

Jon Blistein

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June 22, 2026

Madonna revealed that “a falling out” with Universal Pictures over the budget for her highly publicized biopic led to the film being shelved.

Speaking with Interview , Madonna said she spent several years developing the project, writing the script, and working with producers at Universal on everything from budgeting to casting. But, she said, “We had a falling out, me and Universal, regarding budget.”

As the pop icon pointedly put it: “I’ve had an extraordinary life. I’ve had a huge life, so I needed a big budget. You know what I mean?” She even claimed the studio “couldn’t get their heads around it.”

Madonna did say she looked for ways to cut costs, including one idea to move the production to Serbia. But she said Universal Pictures wasn’t into the idea. “Maybe they just didn’t believe me,” she said. “One of their first reactions was, ‘We don’t believe you’d stay in Serbia more than four days.’ And I said, ‘Did you read the script?’ My whole life has been survival. I’m not going there for a holiday.” (A rep for Universal Pictures said not immediately return a request for comment.)

The Madonna biopic was revealed in 2020 , with the singer attached to co-write and direct the film. At various points, Madonna was working on the script with Oscar-winner Diablo Cody and screenwriter Erin Cressida. The film even found a star in Ozark ’s Julia Garner , who reportedly went through a pop star “boot camp” during the audition process.

Despite all that work, and the fact that music biopics remain heavily bankable, the Madonna film never came to fruition (and no explanation for it being shelved was ever given). In 2025, it appeared that the project might be revived as a Netflix series , but Madonna suggested that process hadn’t panned out either.

In the new interview, she noted that she couldn’t use the script she wrote for the biopic unless she “bought it from [Universal] for an extortionist’s price.” Then there was the entirely different creative process a limited series required versus a movie.