Madonna is not a good director. She’s already perpetrated on us the unwatchable “W.E,” and the atrocious “Filth and Wisdom,” but that clearly isn’t enough.
The singer is set to direct her third feature, based on her own life story, with Julia Garner set to star in the lead role. The project was originally scrapped. No reasons were given. However, it looks as though it’s back on, and Garner is still attached to play Madonna.
The star shared the news on Instagram, with an image of herself working on the film's screenplay, which is now called “Who's That Girl” — a reference to both Madonna's 1987 comedy film and her single of the same name.
The project had first been announced in September 2020 with “Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody working on an early draft. That didn’t work out. Erin Cressida Wilson came in to write a new draft, with Madonna listed as co-writer — that seems to be the script Madonna is working on in the Instagram image she posted.
The singer had previously described the film as following her "struggle as an artist trying to survive in a man's world as a woman, and really just the journey," which she described at the time as a "happy, sad, mad, crazy, good, bad, and ugly" tale of the making of a superstar.
Why would Universal run the risk of financing Madonna directing and writing a movie about herself? At least Garner is inspired casting, she does look like a younger version of the singer. Who knows if this will ever get made, but Madonna seems to believe that it will.