Madonna’s biopic had ‘major red flag’ before cancellation after reps for stars ‘freaked out’ over missing element

MADONNA’S biopic had already raised concerns over a “major red flag” long before it was canned, a Hollywood insider has told The U.S. Sun.

The much-anticipated project was scrapped this week by Universal Pictures after the Queen of Pop, 64, announced a major world tour, although the decision is believed to have been made before that.

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First green-lit in 2020, the movie was set to be directed and co-written by the Like a Virgin star herself.

Oscar-winning Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody was initially brought on to pull the script together.

But in April 2021, The U.S. Sun reported that Cody, 44, had quit after finding Madonna too difficult to work with.

Playwright and author Erin Cressida Wilson was later hired to work on another draft of the script.

However, it is understood that no final version was ever produced, and there were conversations about splitting the movie into two or even making it into a miniseries.

Back and forth over the script was still ongoing when up-and-coming star Julia Garner was offered the coveted lead role in June last year.

The Ozark actress, 28, beat tough competition from other young stars in grueling boot camp-style auditions.

A well-placed Tinseltown source explained that the lack of a screenplay while the movie was being cast set tongues wagging long before the project collapsed.

The insider said: “When the casting process started in early 2021, there was no finished script and, quite frankly, that was the first major red flag to the whole community.

“Even though stars like Julia Garner, Sydney Sweeney, and Florence Pugh came into the process with good faith and a genuine desire for the role, their reps were freaked out that the movie still didn’t have a finished script, even as their clients were getting their vocal cords in shape and taking dancing lessons.

“Through the whole casting process, which lasted forever, Madonna and the bosses at Universal kept going back and forth on the script, and it’s why Julia Garner ultimately never signed a deal even after she won the role.”

The U.S. Sun reported yesterday that the whole fiasco is estimated to have left Universal up to $12million “in the hole.”

It means that if another studio wants to pick up the movie, they would have to reimburse Universal for their expenses just to have the right to start again from square one.

On Friday, The U.S. Sun also reported that Universal execs had been left less than impressed by Madonna’s bizarre social media posts in recent months while she was supposed to be working on the movie.

She has been embroiled in several controversies after posting a series of outlandish videos on TikTok and Instagram.

The mom of six’s insistence on meanwhile retaining “near-total” control of the project proved a bridge too far and doomed it, according to The U.S. Sun’s insider.

Asked what could have saved the movie, the source said: “If Madonna had relented on the point of directing this thing, which was locked in as part of her contract from day one, it would be a totally different story.

“Imagine if she could have lured, say, Tom Ford or her and her ex-husband Sean Penn’s former collaborator David Fincher to come in and direct.

“The studio would have done backflips to make this movie.

“But Madonna didn’t want to even entertain those ideas, and she never seriously considered an alternative.

“Her infamous stubbornness may have been a key to the success of her music career, but it hasn’t worked out nearly as well when it comes to filmmaking.”

The U.S. Sun has asked reps for Madonna, Universal, Julia Garner, Sydney Sweeney, and Florence Pugh for comment.

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