Madonna has confirmed that Florence Pugh is on the shortlist to play her in the upcoming biopic about her life. Pugh has dominated the big screen over the past few years with some stand out performances, most recently appearing in Marvel's Black Widow as Yelena Belova, sister to Natasha Romanoff. Pugh also starred in both Midsommar and Little Women in 2019, and is set to star in Olivia Wilde's upcoming adaptation of Don't Worry Darling alongside Harry Styles.
Madonna's upcoming biopic has had a troubled journey through its pre-production stage. Writer Diablo Cody (who won an Oscar for her work on Juno) reportedly dropped out of the project after her and Madonna shared some creative differences, with writer Erin Wilson now having stepped in to co-write the script with the singer. The biopic is set to focus on Madonna's younger years, and will tell the story of how she arrived in New York as a young girl to try and make it as a dancer and how she ultimately became the icon that she is today. Pugh's name has certainly been in the mix for a while now, alongside a few others, with some fans calling for Paris Jackson to play Madonna due to the striking resemblance they bare to one-another.
Now it appears that Pugh may be closer to securing the role than previously thought. In an interview with AP (Via Yahoo), Madonna confirmed that she is still in the writing process of what she called her "visual autobiography". The singer stated that while they "haven't decided yet" who will play her, Pugh was "up there" when it came to her shortlist. Check out Madonna's full quote below.
Uh, I don’t know. We haven’t decided yet, but she’s definitely up there. She’s up there on the list. If she’ll have me!
During the interview, Madonna also mentioned that it had been "a long and arduous process" so far but went on to say that "it’s been really therapeutic as well." It's clear that Madonna's main goal with the project is it make it perfect and true to her pop star story, with her son, David Banda, describing it as "raw, gritty and honest." Pugh was previously asked about her involvement with the project, to which she shared her excitement to even be mentioned in the same sentence as the singer, but confirmed that she did not yet know what was to come.
While Madonna did not confirm Florence Pugh's involvement in the film, it appears as though she is fairly keen to have the star onboard, even hinting that it may even be up to Pugh's decision at this stage. Pugh has certainly established that she has the acting chops to take on a role such as this, and it would certainly be interesting to see what Pugh would bring to the character. While the project continues on through its early stages of pre-production, little else is known about the film at this time. As for now, audiences will have to wait and see what the future holds for the biopic, as more news emerges over time.
Source: AP (Via Yahoo)