Madonna is the queen of reinvention and has gone by many names including the Material Girl, Dita (a dominatrix during her Erotica phase), Esther (the Jewish name she adopted during her Kabala phase), and most recently “Madame X” the name for her most recent album and tour. Even though the album was released in 2019 (and flopped) and the tour came to a premature end early last year due to COVID-19, it appears the pop trailblazer is still in her “Madame X” phase, as Paramount+ has just released a taping of the tour to stream on its service.
The show opens with the narration:
“Madame X is a secret agent. Travelling around the world. Changing identities. Fighting for freedom. Bringing light to dark places. She is a dancer. A professor. A head of state. A housekeeper. An equestrian. A prisoner. A student. A mother. A child. A teacher. A nun. A singer. A saint. A whore. The spy in the house of love. I’m Madame X.”
Madame X is a lot of things. But two things she isn’t are Trinity and Catwoman.
To promote the Madame X concert special on Paramount+, Madonna appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and during their interview, the icon revealed that she had passed on some movie roles that have become quite iconic.
As she revealed:
“I turned down the role in The Matrix, can you believe that? I wanted to kill myself. That’s like one of the best movies ever made. A teeny-tiny part of me regrets just that one moment in my life.”
She wasn’t specific, but it’s pretty clear that this role was that of Trinity, which eventually went to Carrie-Anne Moss. (Well, hey, at least Madonna got to dress like her– years earlier– in her “Human Nature” video, right?)
The Matrix was indeed groundbreaking and massively influential. Just this year, Space Jam: A New Legacy spoofed it in a sequence in which Granny appeared dressed as Trinity and was even shown demonstrating the same fighting moves.
But then again, it did lead to two lackluster sequels, so maybe Madonna dodged a bullet… slooooowwwwwly and bending over backward.
Speaking of acrobatics, Madonna also revealed that she passed on another iconic role– that of Catwoman in Batman Returns, along with a leading role in Showgirls.
“I saw them both and I regret that I turned down Catwoman, that was pretty fierce.”
The role of Catwoman went to Michelle Pfeiffer and the rest is history! (Well, hey, at least Madonna got to dress like her– years later– in her “Human Nature” video, right? Heeeeeey… I’m noticing a pattern here.)
It was also heavily rumored that Madonna was slated to star as Harley Quinn in a fifth movie in the original cycle of Batman flicks, but that franchise died after the release of Batman and Robin.
Madonna did get a comic-adjacent role in Disney’s Dick Tracy in which she played sultry lounge singer Breathless Mahoney, who ended up having a pretty big secret. The soundtrack album featured Madonna singing show tunes, jazz, and torch songs. She won an Oscar for “Sooner or Later” and the album spawned one of her most iconic singles, “Vogue.”
Movie stardom is something that has eluded Madonna throughout her career, though she has made some valiant efforts and has branched out into directing. She is even planning to direct a biopic based on her own life!
How do you think Madonna would have done with either the roles of Trinity or Catwoman?