Madonna is a lot of things -- Fierce. Talented. Controversial. Original. Arguably most important, however, is that Madonna is all her own. Which is why it makes complete sense that she has taken charge of telling her life story for the big screen! Why let someone else write the script of your movie when you could literally tell it like it is? 

With early concepts of the Madonna biopic buzzing in everyone’s ears, we all have to wonder who is going to play the Material Girl herself. Initial reports suggested that Florence Pugh was the woman Madonna herself wanted for the job, and this shows our Queen of Pop certainly never lost her taste. Pugh, fresh out of her Marvel gig with a more than impressive resume, would definitely have played this role with the keen, gritty edge necessary. However, the Little Women star has been heavily scouted to play Princess Irulan in the sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s hit, Dune, so she might be out of the running altogether. We’ll still get down on our knees to say a prayer that Florence Pugh might join this project. 

So, with Pugh possibly out of the picture, what other names have been bandied about? Sydney Sweeney (“Euphoria”, “The White Lotus”) and Julia Garner (“Inventing Anna”, “Ozark”) are two top and confirmed contenders for the main role, with rumors of Alexa Demie (“Euphoria”), Barbie Ferreira (“Euphoria”), Bebe Rexha, and Odessa Young (Mothering Sunday) also popping up in conversations.

Sweeney and Garner are both interesting and justified choices -- their skill sets are drastically different, but the ever-nagging question lingers: what if we simply haven’t seen their full potential yet? Sydney Sweeney, playing the sympathetic Cassie in Sam Levinson’s “Euphoria”, showed the world in Season 2 that she is not to be underestimated. She can command the camera with a complicated, ever-changing narrative, while still giving a multi-dimensional performance that leaves the audience satiated. 

Julia Garner’s acting style, however, pulls no punches. She plays a clever, underhanded criminal in “Ozark” and a… clever, underhand criminal in Netflix’s new “Inventing Anna”. This is not to say that these characters are the same, however. Garner will invent universes for her characters that the audience can’t begin to grasp, giving them a certain depth the Madonna biopic will be desperate to portray. 

While both young women offer something extra sparkly for the titular role, Julia Garner would certainly be a sight to see as our Madame X. Her particularly memorable acting style is razor sharp and would bring something to the role that the world certainly isn’t expecting. 

We wish all auditionees the best of luck from the bottom of our rebel hearts!