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Ever since her \u201980s anthem \u201cMaterial Girl,\u201d you would think that money is no object for Madonna<\/a>. Perhaps that\u2019s why the pop icon ran into trouble when financial issues with Universal Pictures seemingly derailed her long-anticipated biopic, which was set to star Julia Garner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While speaking with Interview Magazine<\/a><\/span> about her upcoming album, \u201cConfessions II,\u201d the singer opened up about behind-the-scenes challenges that prevented the film \u2014 one she had planned to direct \u2014 from moving forward with the studio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI was supposed to make a movie about my life. I worked on my script for two years and spent two years at Universal Studios with the line producers doing budgeting and casting. We had a falling out, me and Universal, regarding budget because I needed \u2014 I\u2019ve had an extraordinary life. I\u2019ve had a huge life, so I needed a big budget,\u201d Madonna explained, noting that she wasn\u2019t interested in having the biopic become an indie-level production.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThey couldn\u2019t get their heads around it,\u201d she added of Universal. \u201cI found a way to make it for less money in Serbia, but I don\u2019t think they were into the idea of \u2014 I don\u2019t know. Maybe they just didn\u2019t believe in me. One of their first reactions was, \u2018We don\u2019t believe you\u2019d stay in Serbia more than four days.\u2019 And I said, \u2018Did you read the script?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After the project stalled, Madonna said the future of her biopic remained uncertain until Netflix<\/a> approached her with an alternative solution: an offer to turn her life story into a series.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat was a whole other long process,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause I couldn\u2019t use the script I had with Universal unless I bought it from them for an extortionist\u2019s price, even though I wrote it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just the way it goes,\u201d the singer added. \u201cI started trying to understand how making a series would work. It\u2019s a very, very different process. You have to meet a lot of writers and find the right showrunner, and I couldn\u2019t find one. This went on for another eight or nine months. I was like, \u2018Good thing I have another job because I need to work, I need to create. I need to do what I was put on this earth to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Universal\u2019s untitled Madonna biopic was first announced in 2020<\/a>, with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody attached as co-writer, though she was later replaced by \u201cSecretary\u201d writer Erin Cressida Wilson. However, the project was ultimately shelved in 2023 without any explanation from the studio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Several actors \u2014 including Florence Pugh, Odessa Young, Emma Laird, Alexa Demie and Julia Garner \u2014 were reportedly considered for the lead role before the latter told W Magazine<\/a> last year that she\u2019s set to play the Queen of Pop<\/a> in an unknown project that\u2019s \u201ca work in progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n