Variety reports that Madonna is set to direct W.E., a biopic about the affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson that led to the British royal abdicating from the throne to marry his divorcee lover.
Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) is in talks for the role of Simpson. There is no word yet on who will play King Edward.
The King’s desire to marry a twice-divorced American with two living ex-husbands caused a constitutional crisis in the United Kingdom and the Dominions, which ultimately led to the King’s abdication in December 1936 to marry “the woman I love.”[3] After the abdication, the former king was created Duke of Windsor by his brother George VI. Edward married Wallis six months later, after which she was formally known as the Duchess of Windsor, without the style “Her Royal Highness.”
Madonna is writing the script with Alex Keshishian (Truth or Dare). Colin Vaines and David Parfitt are producing.
