Madonna's daughter dropped from her mom's biopic as singer's ex reveals film will be a 'great love story'

Madonna 's daughter Lourdes was gunning to play her mother in the singer's upcoming biopic , but lacked the acting experience needed to take on the Material Girl.

The film, currently titled Who's That Girl, is finally in the works, four years after a script was completed and nearly two years after it was put on hold while Madonna embarked on her Celebration tour.

Lourdes aka 'Lola', 28, was considered , but lost out on the role to actress Julia Garner , who was in a two horse race with Kathryn Newton, with Madonna and film bosses struggling to make a decision on who should play the Queen of Pop.

'Lola was being considered for the role of her mom, but she did not have the acting experience necessary to play such a difficult part,' a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.

Who's That Girl - a reference to Madonna's 1987 comedy film and single of the same name - is set to chronicle her decades long career, as well as aspects of her personal life, including her relationship with Carlos Leon, 58, and the birth of their daughter Lola in 1996.

Carlos had been championing Lola for the role, claiming she was the perfect casting to play the boundary-pushing singer.

'I hope they cast a gorgeous baby to play Lola because she was as beautiful then as she is now,' he told DailyMail.com in August. 'They need to hire an actress who gives off strength, it's in her blood.

'Lola is a phenomenal actress I think she would be great.'

Garner, 30, and Newton , 27, had undergone screentests for the role and took part in an intense 11-hour audition process with the singer's choreographer.

They were also required to take part in several script readings with Madonna and had to perform her songs in front of her.

Garner, who played con artist and fraudster Anna Delvey in Netflix hit Inventing Anna, previously revealed she prepared for the role by studying Madonna's music, performances, and personal life.

She also joined Madonna onstage during her Celebration Tour in Brooklyn, New York in December 2023.

Lola recently opened up about her career and said she would consider acting if she was presented with a role not 'too far off' from who she is.

'I don't have a specific goal. I probably should,' she told her mom's lifelong friend Debi Mazar for Interview magazine .'

'Financially, modeling is a smart decision. I enjoy being very hands on with the campaigns I do, so that I'm not just modeling, per se.

'I dance, I have a very specific sense of style, and I'm interested in aesthetics, so I like to incorporate all those parts of myself into my projects.'

She continued: 'I don't know how I feel about acting yet. I think it's about finding a role that wouldn't be too far off from who I am already.'

Madonna has been heavily involved in the film, which she announced was back on in an Instagram post in July.

The Vogue singer shared a montage of images of herself sat at a typewriter surrounded with what appeared to be pages of script.

'I Need A-lot of Bandz to make this...........OKAY,' Madonna captioned the post.

Filming is not yet underway but, according to a source, the interior scenes will be shot at Universal. Exterior scenes will be taped in New York City 's Lower East Side and Upper East Side.

Madonna's love story with Lola's father Carlos - who is the founder of clothing and cannabis online store OG Daddy - will be documented in the movie.

The exes first met in 1994 in a chance encounter when Madonna was jogging in New York City's Central Park. She fell pregnant while shooting Evita and gave birth to Lola in 1996. They split the following year but have remained close friends.

'This film is one of the greatest urban love stories ever told,' Carlos told DailyMail.com. 'It's an honor to be a part of history.

'In the long run, there has been more good than bad, and my ex and I have a beautiful daughter who was made with love.'

American actor Jencarlos Canela is the current frontrunner to play Carlos, who previously said: 'I hope a young unknown Latino actor from Manhattan is chosen to play Carlos Leon in the movie. I want the actor to be authentic to my heritage.

'Most importantly the actor should embody resilience and protective energy. I am very protective over my daughter and her mother. I think that continues to shine through. Family comes first.'

The upcoming film was first announced in September 2020, with Madonna revealing that she was working with Oscar-winning Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody under the title Little Sparrow.

Cody and Madonna finished work on the project in 2021. Diablo left and was replaced by Erin Cressida Wilson.

Speaking on an Instagram Live at the time the Papa Don't Preach singer said the film would show her 'struggle as an artist trying to survive in a man's world,' as she moved from Michigan to New York.

She claimed it would cover the 'happy, sad, mad, crazy, good, bad and ugly' times.

She had previously rejected the notion of a 'biopic' claiming the project was a 'visual autobiography.'

'Don't call it a biopic,' she told The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in October 2021. 'The reason I'm doing it is a bunch of people have tried to write movies about me, but they're always men.'

Madonna found fame with her 1983 eponymous debut studio album before releasing a string of hits including Vogue, Like a Prayer and Frozen.

She also starred in films including Desperately Seeking Susan and Evita, which won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.

She was married to Sean Penn from 1985 until 1989 and later married Guy Ritchie in 2000. The pair, who share son Rocco, 24, split in 2008. She is also mom to adopted children David, 19, Mercy, 18, and twins Stella and Estere, 12.