Why Disney+ ‘Lizzie McGuire’ Reboot Was Scrapped, According to Hilary Duff

Despite a ton of hype surrounding it, the Lizzie McGuire reboot never got off the ground. Now, Lizzie McGuire herself, Hilary Duff, is giving some insight into why the reboot never made it to air. During an interview with Women’s Health, Duff said that she wanted the reboot to give a more mature look at the character, who would be 30 years old by now. Although, Disney wasn’t on board with that plan. 

Duff said that she understood that they couldn’t feature the beloved character doing just about anything. But, she insisted that they show Lizzie in a more mature light, as she stated, “She had to be 30 years old doing 30-year-old things. She didn’t need to be doing bong rips and having one-night stands all the time, but it had to be authentic. I think they got spooked.” This isn’t the first time that Duff has spoken out about the ill-fated reboot. 

In May 2021, Duff acknowledged that the reboot wasn’t going to be “family-friendly” enough for Disney’s streaming service. She said on The Jess Cagle Show, “I think they are really trying to figure out what kind of content they want living on Disney+, and that doesn’t totally align with, like, where I see Lizzie right now. I’m very protective of her and they’re very protective of her.” Similar to what she said to Women’s Health, the Younger star stated that she wanted the character to be able to act her age even if the show was to move forward on Disney+. She added, “The one thing for me was just the way that she could connect with what was going on in people that were watching the show. And so for me, it only makes sense to me to shoot a show where she’s acting like a 30-year-old in a modern world.”

Over a year after the project was first announced, Duff announced in December 2020 that the Lizzie McGuire reboot would no longer be happening. She announced the news on Instagram and shared a message to fans about the fate of the highly-anticipated series. The actor expressed that the reboot wouldn’t be going forward and noted that it was largely because of differing views on how to handle the character. Duff wrote, in part, “I want any reboot of Lizzie to be honest and authentic to who Lizzie would be today. It’s what the character deserves.”