26 Jan – Despite the previous high-profile search for the right actress to play the role, it was revealed that the Madonna-directed "Madonna" biopic is no longer in development at Universal Pictures. The news came after Madonna announced that she will be going on a 35-city global concert tour called "The Celebration Tour" beginning 15 July, which will be launched in Vancouver. First announced in 2020, the movie was going to chronicle the singer's career, which spans almost four decades. Madonna revealed that she would pen the script herself, reportedly alongside Diablo Cody ("Juno") and Erin Cressida Wilson ("The Girl on the Train").
The movie also began a long search for the right starlet to play her in 2021, with Julia Garner emerging as Madonna's favourite following a singing and dancing bootcamp. Sources claimed that it was a struggle from the start, with talks to even split the movie into two or making it into a miniseries, seeing that one movie would not be enough to tell the story of a four-decade career. Universal had no comment.