Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” remake can’t afford Beyoncé

Back in December, we were so excited to hear that Beyoncé would be in the remake (of a remake of a remake!) of A Star is Born, directed by and co-starring Bradley Cooper. The film is a classic, which is why it was remade in 1954 (starring Judy Garland) and 1976 (starring Barbra Streisand) after its first production in 1937. A Star Is Born tells the love story between an aging film star, who will be played by Cooper, and a young singer, who would hopefully be played by Beyoncé.

Unfortunately, it looks like we won’t be seeing that sure-to-be-intense chemistry between the two on the big screen, because Beyoncé reportedly won’t be in it. The reason: Queen Bey asked for a whoooole lot of money — too much for Warner Bros. to handle.

“Beyoncé wanted too much money, and Warner Bros. balked at her price,” one Hollywood source told Page Six. “The production budget was also said to be an issue with the studio, so the project has fallen apart.”

However, another source told the gossip column that, although Bey likely won’t be involved, the project is still a go. “Bradley has started reading scripts for his next acting project. But the ‘Star Is Born’ project remains in development and Bradley is still involved,” the source said. A third source confirmed this, telling Page Six, “This project is something Bradley has been involved with for a long time. It has gone on the back burner, but he’s still working on it, among other projects.”

The latest A Star Is Born remake has been shuffled around Hollywood for the past five years, with various roles shifting and changing. Back in 2011, Clint Eastwood was set to direct, and Bey was going to be the lead; Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Christian Bale, and Leonardo DiCaprio were all possibilities for the role of the film star. However, Cooper picked up the project as his directorial debut in 2014.

Although we’re disappointed that Bey won’t be in the film, we applaud her for sticking to her guns about getting paid, and we have no doubt that the film will be fabulous no matter who stars in it. After all, it’s A Star Is Born we’re talking about.