Julia Garner Says the Madonna Biopic Is ‘Supposed to Still Happen’ While Sharing How She Got Cast

Julia Garner is still holding out hope to express herself as Madonna on the big screen.

During a stop on the SmartLess podcast with Sean Hayes, Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, the Fantastic Four: First Steps star said the long-gestating Madonna biopic is “supposed to still happen.”

Hayes, 55, asked Garner, 31, how she got involved in that project. As a huge fan of Madonna’s music growing up, Garner said she had to audition when she heard a biopic was in the works.

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“It just came about… like I knew that they were doing a project, making a movie about it, and then I went out to audition,” the Ozark star explained. “I kind of just wanted to see if I could do it.”

Garner isn’t a trained dancer, so she had to learn how to dance and then dance in front of the “Material Girl” singer herself. 

To prepare for the audition, Garner said she asked herself what Madonna would do. “Which is like convince you that she deserves… to be in this room,” Garner said. “And I owned it. I was like, ‘You can take it or leave it, but if you leave it, if I leave, then that’s on you.’ “

Garner told the hosts that the Madonna film is still in the works. She’s come to learn that anything good takes a long time to bake.

Garner has been associated with the Madonna biopic since at least 2022, when she was coming off the successful Netflix series Inventing Anna. A source told PEOPLE in June 2022 that Garner was Madonna’s top pick to play her in the movie. 

In January 2023, Variety reported that Universal Pictures was no longer developing the movie. Nevertheless, Madonna and Garner stayed in contact, with the two posing for a picture at photographer and filmmaker Steven Klein’s May 2023 birthday party. In December 2023, Garner joined Madonna onstage during a Brooklyn tour stop.

Madonna didn’t give up on the project. In July 2024, she teased work on the script and revealed a working title, Who’s That Girl, a nod to her 1987 film and song of the same name. 

In May 2025, Deadline reported that Madonna teamed up with Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy for a Netflix limited series about her life. Garner previously worked with Netflix on Ozark and Inventing Anna.

Garner plays the Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is now in theaters. Her next movie, Weapons, opens on Aug. 8.