Would you believe Lizzie McGuire transported us to Rome, met her singing sensation doppelgänger, and gave us the legendary Disney single “What Dreams Are Made Of” in The Lizzie McGuire Movie 20 years ago? Fans have been screaming for Hilary Duff to reprise her role as the bumbling fashionista navigating romance, friendships, and family for almost two decades. When Disney+ revealed that it was working on a Lizzie McGuire relaunch in 2019, it appeared like it was finally going to happen.
Unfortunately, the producers and streaming platform executives did not agree, and the project was canceled in 2020. But, like her devoted fans, Duff remains hopeful that the relaunch will happen one day. In fact, she is “optimistic” about it.
Duff was questioned about the relaunch of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on January 26. “Would you go ahead with the Lizzie McGuire relaunch if it lived up to your vision?” host Cohen asked.”Of course,” Duff replied unequivocally.
When Cohen asked what the “major sticking point” was, the “So Yesterday” singer paused a little longer before responding, “Disney+ was very new, and I think they were working it out there… “While we were working out our… and I’m an “optimist.”
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Duff is alluding to the announcement by Disney+ that work will be halted in January 2020, barely two months after it began. Terri Minsky, the original series creator, was also sacked by Disney+ after claims that the show was too “adult.”
Duff said a month later that she intended the revival to air on Hulu to avoid the PG rating. “I feel a tremendous need to honor the fans’ love for Lizzie, who, like me, grew up seeing themselves in her. “I’d be doing everyone a disservice if I limited the reality of a 30-year-old to fit inside the confines of a PG rating.” “It would be a dream if Disney would allow us to relocate the program to Hulu if they were interested, and I could bring this beloved character back to life,” she continued.
The Disney alum officially confirmed the reboot’s cancellation on Instagram in December 2020. “Unfortunately, and despite everyone’s best efforts, that isn’t going to happen,” she wrote. She also referred to the streaming platform’s difficulty with Lizzie’s growing up, stating, “I want any relaunch of Lizzie to be honest and true to who Lizzie would be now.” “It’s just fair for the character.”
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Following the cancellation, Duff shared her thoughts about Lizzie in today’s world. “I think she would be eccentric; I think she would battle with confidence, but I believe at the end of the day, she gets her footing,” Duff remarked on Good Morning America in March 2021. “That’s what’s so charming about her, and what’s so sympathetic about her, is that she doesn’t have all the answers right away, but she’s on the right road,” she continued.
A year later, the younger actress eventually disclosed further information regarding the cancellation and how Disney+ most likely “got spooked.” “[Lizzie] had to be 30 years old to do 30-year-old activities,” she stated in a Women’s Health interview in May 2022. “She didn’t have to be doing bong rips and one-night stands all the time; it had to be genuine.” “I believe they were startled.” The remake would have followed Lizzie after she discovers her fiancé cheated on her and returns home to her family.
Despite the tragic news, Duff fans found solace in her new role in Hulu’s reimagining of How I Met Your Mother. Fans got to see Lizzie as an adult in How I Met Your Father’s main character, Sophie, who deals with being single in New York.
