Julia Fox Confirms She Was Set to Play Debi Mazar in Shelved Madonna Biopic: ‘I’d Still Love to’ Do It

Julia Fox is shedding light on why the Madonna biopic didn’t go into production, even after Julia Garner was announced to portray the iconic Grammy winner.

Fox, who also confirmed she was indeed set to play Debi Mazar in the film, exclusively told IndieWire that Madonna opted instead to go on tour to promote her new album rather than shoot the film.

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“I know it was gonna be either tour or movie and then she went on tour,” the “OMG Fashun” host and certified own iconic “Material Girl” told IndieWire. “So I don’t know when the movie will be picking back up again or when they’re going to start working on it again. But I didn’t hear anything. I actually don’t know.”

Madonna co-wrote the script and was set to direct her own life story, as well as personally train Garner to transform into her onstage. The film was officially shelved by Universal in January 2023.

However, according to Fox, the biopic isn’t totally scrapped just yet. Yet Fox’s casting as Mazar might be thrown into question as the years pass, given that the film will center on Mazar and Madonna’s friendship as young adults. The officially untitled film, rumored to be named “Little Sparrow,” is said to culminate with Madonna’s 1990 Blonde Ambition tour.

“I mean, I’d still love to but I genuinely don’t know,” Fox said. “They are going back, you know, when, when they’re like 19 and they first meet. I feel like I might have already aged out of that casting, but we’ll see.”

Fox added, “I love Debi. She’s truly New York royalty, and it would be an honor to play her.”

Fox’s would-be co-star Garner previously told Entertainment Tonight that she still has her “fingers crossed” that the feature will get made. Garner reportedly endured an intense audition process that involved a “boot camp” of sorts, per a THR report. Garner was up against Florence Pugh, Alexa Demie, Odessa Young, and Emma Laird, and singers Bebe Rexha and Sky Ferreira, during the “11-hour-a-day choreography sessions” with Madonna’s personal choreographer, followed by choreography sessions with Madonna herself.

The logline for the film, cited by Madonna, was to chart “the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer — a human being, trying to make her way in this world.”

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