The role that every young actress wants right now is the lead in the Madonna biopic, which the Material Girl is directing herself, having written the script with Oscar winner Diablo Cody. Sources say that Euphoria stars Sydney Sweeney and Barbie Ferreira both auditioned for the plum part, as did Julia Garner, the Emmy-winning star of Ozark who has been linked to the role before by wishful fans. Madonna initially set her sights on Florence Pugh "if she'll have me" but if they're auditioning as many actresses as they have been, it doesn't seem as though that one worked out. Whoever plays Madonna will have to be able to pull off a certain "bad girl" attitude and all three of these actresses seem like they could deliver that element. Reps have equated this role to the female version of the Elvis biopic, which saw Hollywood's up-and-coming leading men jostle to curry favor with Baz Luhrmann, only for Austin Butler (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) to beat out bigger names such as Harry Styles and Miles Teller. Speaking of which, a source who has seen Elvis believes that Butler will receive an Oscar nomination for his performance, which they insist is going to surprise a lot of people, but they were less enthusiastic about Tom Hanks' turn as Colonel Tom Parker, or his uneven accent. Overall, they seemed to like the movie, but only to a point, which recalls the general consensus on Bohemian Rhapsody. Elvis should be so lucky, both at the box office and next year's Oscars.

At the moment, the biggest role available for many young actresses is as one of pop music’s biggest icons: Madonna. Everyone from Emmy winners and Oscar nominees to signers-turned-actresses has been seen for the role, with some advancing on to what can be best described as a Madonna Bootcamp.

Casting director Carmen Cuba is running the search, with the list having been whittled down over the course of several months. Julia Garner and Florence Pugh are among those that are still in the running, along with Euphoria star Alexa Demie, indie regular Odessa Young (Mothering Sunday), and newcomer Emma Laird (Mayor of Kingstown). Musical artists have also been a part of the search, including Bebe Rexha and Sky Ferreira, the latter of whom has had a small role in Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver and the Twilight Zone series, among other onscreen parts.

As for the actual audition process, it’s “grueling,” says one rep with knowledge of the auditions, some of which have been going on for months.

According to sources, the hopefuls participate in intense — sometimes up to 11-hour-a-day — choreography sessions with Madonna’s choreographer, after which there are choreography sessions with Madonna, herself. And then there are callbacks, which consist of readings with Madonna, as well as singing auditions with the superstar.

“You have to be able to do everything,” says one person with knowledge of the process. The movie, which sources say current drafts culminate with her landmark, 1990 Blonde Ambition tour (this of course may change as the script continues to develop), will require dancing and singing sequences, meaning that after the audition process is over, the would-be star is still looking at months’ worth of intense training ahead of a potential start date.

Musical biopics often have their subjects — or subjects’ relatives or estates — involved, in order to retain the requisite rights. Elton John served as executive producer on Rocketman with his husband David Furnish produced the film through their Rocket Pictures, and the upcoming Bob Marley biopic at Paramount has the late singer’s children and wife onboard to produce. But Madonna’s involvement — she is the subject, co-writer and director — is particularly notable.

“The reason I’m doing it is because a bunch of people have tried to write movies about me, but they’re always men,” Madonna said in October during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. (Brett Ratner’s RatPac and Michael De Luca were previously attached to produce a biopic about the singer for Universal based on the 2016 Black List script Blonde Ambition.) In 2020, it was announced that the singer would be directing a biopic for Universal and co-writing the screenplay with Oscar-winner Diablo Cody. Amy Pascal is onboard to produce. Cody has since exited the project, with Erin Cressida Wilson (Secretary, The Girl on the Train) taking on co-writing duties.

Madonna is a plum role for any actress. With Universal as the distributor, it is assured a wide theatrical release. And with Madonna as the subject-director, it will no doubt attract a lot of eyeballs. The biopic, while in active development, does not yet have a green light from the studio, which is high on the project, and usually awaits a final script, budget, and cast before giving the go-ahead. A major factor is ultimately who will be cast as the Material Girl.

“Inventing Anna” actress Julia Garner has been offered the role of Madonna in a forthcoming biopic about the pop icon, sources familiar with the project told Variety.

Garner has emerged the favorite from over a dozen candidates, one insider added, and has for months been speculated as a frontrunner for the part — a performance Madonna will shepherd herself as director. Garner’s team is considering and expected to accept the offer, said another source.