The winding saga of the much-awaited Madonna biopic continues once more with news today that the queen of pop’s life story will now be adapted into a Netflix limited series, produced by Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy.
For years, Madonna has attempted to adapt her life story into a feature film, but these past projects have been hampered by conflict over creative control. A previous film in development with Universal Pictures and starring Inventing Anna actor Julia Garner was cancelled in 2020 after the 66-year-old superstar raised questions about the film’s direction.
“Only I can tell my story,” Madonna declared in a now-archived Instagram post at the time. “Anyone else who tries is a charlatan and a fool… Why would Universal Studios want to make a movie about me based on a script that is all lies???”
Following this attempt, Madonna allegedly picked up the pen herself and began writing her own script in partnership with Juno director Diablo Cody. Madonna described that early script as focusing on her “struggle as an artist trying to survive in a man’s world”, however, Cody exited the project later in 2020.
Today’s news marks the resumption of the Madonna biopic dream once again, and there is without doubt plenty of material to draw on in the upcoming series. The pioneering pop star’s winding life story includes squatting in an abandoned New York synagogue in the late 1970s, partying with Keith Haring, Andy Warhol and Jean Michel-Basquiat in the 1980s, and later becoming the best-selling female artist of all time.
Check out our list of iconic Madonna moments that need to be included in the upcoming series here.