Julia Garner offered role of Madonna in Universal biopic

Julia Garner has reportedly been offered the lead role in Madonna's forthcoming biopic, helmed by Universal Studios and directed by the pop icon herself.

The Inventing Anna and Ozark actress beat out another 12 stars in a "gruelling" audition process for the role, as reported by Variety. Florence Pugh, Euphoria star Alexa Demie, Odessa Young and Emma Laird were also on the shortlist to portray Madonna.

Garner is known for her starring role as Ruth Langmore in the Netflix crime drama series Ozark (2017–2022), for which she received critical acclaim and won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2019 and 2020. She also earned a Golden Globe Award nomination in 2020 for Best Supporting Actress – Television.

Grammy winner Madonna is directing her own life story for the big screen, from a script co-written with Erin Cressida Wilson. Amy Pascal is currently on board to produce the Universal Pictures musical biopic.

Garner’s team is said to be reviewing the offer and is considering accepting. Universal confirmed that the film remains in active development but Garner is the predominant choice to play Madonna.

The untitled film culminates with Madonna’s 1990 Blonde Ambition tour and will require multiple dancing and singing sequences. Madonna has worked with Diablo Cody and playwright Erin Cressida Wilson on the script.

Casting director Carmen Cuba led a boot camp with the final five actresses up for the role of Madonna going through “up to 11-hour-a-day choreography sessions” with Madonna’s personal choreographer, followed by choreography sessions with the 'Like a Virgin' singer herself. Callbacks allegedly consisted of readings with Madonna, plus singing auditions.

Lead star Garner recently shrugged off casting rumours, saying “You know as much as I do” to Andy Cohen when he pointed out that Madonna follows her on social media.

In terms of the film's progress, Madonna said last year, “It’s a pretty crazy experience so far, I’m just in the writing process, and just deciding which stories to tell, how much detail to go into, which characters to develop. It’s really been a long and arduous process, but it’s been really therapeutic as well.”