Britney Spears could be planning an epic comeback for 2024 as ‘negotiations are underway’ for her to reunite with the man responsible for one of her most famous photoshoots.

Award-winning photographer Markus Klinko collaborated with Britney, now 42, back in 2004 and took several sultry snaps of the pop star, which were then used to promote her Onyx Hotel Tour in conjunction with the release of her Grammy Award-winning album In The Zone.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Markus has now revealed that he’s putting the wheels in motion and hopefully getting the singer back in front of his camera in order to mark the 20th anniversary of the memorable shots, which saw Britney shed her ‘good girl’ image once and for all.

‘Negotiations are underway with our team for a 20 year celebration-type art project,’ Markus explained. ‘We’ve put that proposal out there, some of my people are talking to her people about it. So let’s see, she’s not really that active right now.’

The 62-year-old – who has also photographed David Bowie and Beyoncé – is keen to ‘reinstate the legacy of Britney’ following a rather difficult time for the mother-of-two.

Not only was Britney locked in a 13-year conservatorship – which came to an end in 2021 – she also split from her husband of 14 months, Sam Asghari, in August.

Aside from her explosive memoir, the pop superstar has largely stayed out of the limelight in the past few years, shunning red carpets and live performances, opting instead to keep fans updated via her Instagram account where she often shares videos of herself dancing.

Referring to the ‘magical quality’ of the photographs he took of Britney, Markus said: ‘I’m not saying this to show off, this is just purely from the numbers, but that photoshoot became the biggest-selling merchandising campaign for a female artist.’ 

As well as being used for the promotion of Britney’s Onyx Hotel Tour, some images were later used for magazine covers, including Vanity Fair. Beauty brand Elizabeth Arden also licensed some, which they used to advertise two of Britney’s fragrances: Fantasy and Midnight Fantasy.

Commenting on what it was like to collaborate with the Grammy winner almost two decades ago, Markus said: ‘When I worked with Britney in 2004 – and I can only judge her on that moment in time – she was extremely intelligent, extremely in charge and very, very collaborative. She made all the decisions on the spot together with me. 

‘Britney was accompanied by her dad and her manager and the usual entourage, but they stayed completely out of it. They went into a room and played cards. We’re talking 2004, that’s Britney way before any of the meltdowns, breakdowns and that stuff.’

When asked what he thinks the Gimme More hitmaker would be like to work with now and if she would still be in control, Markus replied: ‘No doubt. I’m very curious. I think that, yes, I would be very optimistic that it could be an even better photoshoot than the one in 2004.’

He also confirmed how much money he can make on the images today, adding: ‘Britney photos are in the $15,000 range. These photos go up in price because they are limited edition, as editions are almost sold out. They increase in price as the edition sells through. So when there’s only four left, when there’s only two left, collectors are starting to offer a lot more money.’

Markus went on to say that some of his photographs of legendary singer Bowie can sell for up to $200,000, and revealed that singer The Weeknd even owns one.

He regards the late Ziggy Stardust and Britney as some of his ‘best collaborators’ and said he would ‘also probably include Beyoncé.’ 

‘I would say, you know, the three Big Bs:  Bowie, Beyoncé, and Britney,’ he added.

In fact, Britney is the one who reached out to Markus after seeing the images he took of Destiny’s Child star Beyoncé for her solo album Dangerously in Love. 

‘Britney reached out to me through her stylists team. She had a couple stylists that worked very closely with her and they contacted me and said that Britney wanted to work with me based on the Beyoncé album cover that came out a few months earlier in the summer of 2003, and so a lot of musicians and labels wanted to work with me based on that,’ Markus explained.

Recently, Markus has been working on a project called The Angel Factory, in collaboration with Emerald Laser, which explores the phenomenon of plastic surgery and society’s ‘obsession with looking great and having perfect features and bodies.’

‘The Angel Factory series is all about staying young, anti-aging, the health components of plastic surgery and all that. Think Kim Kardashian… so it’s actually part of the reason I chose to do this series is because it plays so much into the cult of celebrity,’ Markus said.

‘Our society has basically made celebrity culture into religion. I think that our society has replaced religion, to some degree, with celebrity culture. Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé are our Greek goddesses of the day, and this is very interesting. I’m just merely holding up a mirror to society, I don’t judge.’