Hilary Duff is sharing the sad news that the Lizzie McGuire reboot is dead, despite everyone’s best efforts and fans’ hopes.
“I've been so honored to have the character of Lizzie in my life. She has made such a lasting impact on many, including myself. To see the fans' loyalty and love for her, to this day, means so much to me,” Duff wrote. “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.”
“I want any reboot of Lizzie to be honest and authentic to who Lizzie would be today,” she explained. “It's what the character deserves.”
The actress concluded, “We can all take a moment to mourn the amazing woman she would have been and the adventures we would have taken with her. I'm very sad, but I promise everyone tried their best and the stars just didn't align. Hey now, this is what 2020s made of.”
The reboot was announced with much fanfare in August of 2019, and it was set for Disney+, but after a first look at the series was shared, disagreements on-set began burbling to the surface. Duff was on board to reprise her original role as Lizzie, now as a grown-up in NYC. Word soon broke that original creator Terri Minsky was exiting over creative differences, and she and Duff expressed interest in moving the show to Hulu so that they could explore more mature themes.
Clearly, creative challenges coupled with the pandemic spelled doom for the project… at least for now.