Julia Garner Joins Madonna on Stage After She Was Set to Star in Her Now-Paused Biopic

Julia Garner may not be playing Madonna in a biopic at this time, but she still got to team up with the Material Girl herself for a performance.

Several months after the film about pop icon’s life — which she was set to write, produce and direct — was confirmed to be no longer moving forward with Universal Pictures, she brought out the actress, 29, who was set to play her, on stage. On Thursday night’s Celebration Tour stop at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Emmy winner appeared as the special guest judge during the vogueing portion of the show, inspired by her 1990 hit. 

The former Ozark star was photographed seated on stage next to the Grammy winner — bearing almost uncanny resemblance with both of their hair done up in blond curls. While the hitmaker wore one of her custom Jean Paul Gaultier bodysuits for the tour, Garner was styled in pearls, a lace top and black trousers, resonant of the Like a Virgin era. 

The two playfully judged the “Like a Prayer” singer’s backup dancers’ choreography, grinning while flashing signs of perfect 10s. 

Fans also shared footage of the moment on social media. The clips captured the Inventing Anna actress giving her best diva-esque stage presence as she kept a fierce facial expression and strutted about the stage. 

At one point when one of the dancers was performing a lap dance on her, the Golden Globe winner briefly broke character, laughing and placing her hand on Madge’s shoulder. 

Garner is one of the many surprise guests the superstar has brought out for the fun portion of her acclaimed world tour. 

Her appearance comes just one day after Madonna brought out her boyfriend Josh Popper at her Wednesday night concert at Barclays. 

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In the past, she’s also been joined by famous friends like Arca, Debi Mazar, Diplo, Donatella Versace,  FKA Twigs and Julia Fox, among others. 

Like Garner, Fox, 33, was long rumored to have secured a major role in the “Hung Up” singer’s biopic. The Uncut Gems star was said to have auditioned and been very interested in playing Mazar, the superstar’s longtime friend and former backup dancer.

In January, Variety reported that the self-produced biopic was not moving forward with Universal Pictures after it had been in development for years, with Garner the choice to play the role since summer 2022. 

At the time, the outlet noted that the singer was still intent on making a movie about her life, but wanted to turn her focus to her then-newly announced Celebration Tour. 

Given Garner’s recent on stage appearance and other instances, it appears as though the two remain in touch. 

In May of this year, the icon shared a photo of the pair spending time together on her Instagram Story, writing, "Bitch we're Madonna! 😂😂😂,” in the caption. 

The actress has also expressed hope for the movie’s future. When asked by Entertainment Tonight in March whether the project would be revisited down the line, she admitted that she “[didn’t] want to tell too much,” but was keeping her “fingers crossed.”