According to Consequence, the Madonna biopic has been canceled due to budget constraints. The highly anticipated biopic would have been directed by the pop icon herself, who is also releasing a new studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor: Part II, in July. The film would have also starred actress Julia Garner, who was recently featured in Madonna’s “Bring Your Love” music video, as the artist. However, Universal Studios has reportedly scrapped the whole project. 

For fans wondering if there is still a chance for the project to be picked up by another studio, Madonna shared that, after the film was cancelled, Netflix had reached out to her looking to turn the project into a series instead. However, she had to turn them down because Universal Studios still owned the rights to the original scripts. 

“That was a whole other long process, because I couldn’t use the script I had with Universal unless I bought it from them for an extortionist’s price, even though I wrote it…” she said. “That’s just the way it goes.”

The artist also added that the process of creating a show would have been “very, very different.” Besides starting the project again from scratch, she would have had to hire a team of writers and a showrunner—which she said she couldn’t find. 

The cancellation itself came in lieu of what the artist called a “falling out” between herself and Universal Studios. Madonna said that she had tried to make adjustments to reduce costs, such as moving the filming location to Serbia. However, she said Universal didn’t trust her commitment. 

“Maybe they just didn’t believe in me. 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.”

Ultimately, the project was canceled because neither party could sustain a fitting compromise that fit Madonna’s vision and the studio’s conceptions and budget constraints. 

“I’ve had an extraordinary life. I’ve had a huge life, so I needed a big budget,” she said.