Disney’s planned reboot of “Lizzie McGuire” will not be moving forward, according to star Hilary Duff.
“I know the efforts and conversations have been everywhere trying to make a reboot work but, sadly & despite everyone’s best efforts, it isn’t going to happen,” the actress wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday. “We can all take a moment to mourn the amazing woman she would have been and the adventures we would have taken with her.”
In its own statement, Disney attributed the decision not to move forward with the revival to creative reasons.
“‘Lizzie McGuire’ fans have high expectations for any new stories,” a spokesperson for the company said. “Unless and until we are confident we can meet those expectations, we’ve decided to hold off and today, we informed the cast’s representatives that we are not moving forward with the planned series.”
The series, a revival of the Disney Channel sitcom that launched Duff’s career, was put on hiatus earlier this year after showrunner Terri Minsky exited the series over creative differences with the streamer. Minsky later explained her exit in an interview, saying that her plan to make the show more “mature” didn’t fit with the family-friendly Disney+ brand.
Duff herself backed Minsky’s original vision at the time, suggesting that Disney move the show to its sister streaming network Hulu, where it wouldn’t face the same content restrictions, as the company did with its “Love, Simon” spinoff series “Love, Victor.”
First announced at the Disney+ unveiling event in 2019, the new “Lizzie McGuire” was set to pick up with the titular character about to turn 30. Per the original series description, “She seemingly has it all — her dream job as an assistant to a fancy New York City interior designer, her dream guy and a picturesque Brooklyn apartment — but things aren’t always as they seem. With a little help from her old friends and some new ones to come, her well-meaning family and her 13-year-old alter-ego in animated form, Lizzie navigates the ups and downs of adulthood.”
In addition to Duff, much of the original show’s cast was set to return for the revival, including Adam Lamberg, Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine and Jake Thomas.
Read Duff’s full statement below.
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