What Netflix really, really wants: a Spice Girls biopic

British band Spice Girls in 1997
Victoria Beckham, Emma Bunton, Mel B, Geri Halliwell and Melanie C shot to fame as the Spice Girls. -AP

Netflix is reportedly set to handle a drama series based on the lives of the Spice Girls.

Geri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Emma Bunton, and Melanie C shot to fame in the late 1990s as part of the world's best-selling girl group, and it was previously reported that Left Bank Pictures, the production company behind The Crown, was set to create a biopic on them.

However, an insider claims the streaming giant itself has taken the reins.

"Executives are keen to have all the group on board providing as much input as possible - after all, they are pop royalty," a source told The Sun newspaper.

"But Netflix are the organisation who defied the wishes of real royalty and went ahead and made The Crown, so they aren't afraid to go it alone when they have to.

"The project is in its very early stages so there's plenty of time to get all five Spice Girls involved."

"But they have to work with each other, and with the producers, to make it happen!"

Earlier in 2024, it was claimed the project would have been very lucrative for the Wannabe hit makers, and they would not even need to get involved because they would be played by actors.

But insiders claimed Halliwell "objected" to the idea and the project had been "thrown out". 

"It would have seen five actresses taking on the roles of Posh, Ginger, Scary, Sporty and Baby," as source said.

"The venture would have landed them all pay deals of around Stg1 million ($A2 million) for essentially not lifting a finger.

"But as the negotiations ramped up, the others were told Geri had objected.

"They wanted to have the agreement of all of the band and without Geri it's hard to make it happen."

The Spice Girls were formed through an open audition in 1994, and achieved a run of six consecutive number-one singles and two number-one albums before the shock exit of Halliwell in 1998.

They released their last record in 2000 but got back together in 2007 for a world tour.

In 2012, all five members performed at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics and were briefly seen together again at the opening of their short-lived West End musical Viva Forever, but Beckham opted not to return for the group's last run of stadium shows in 2019.