A Lizzie McGuire revival at Disney+ isn’t going forward, star Hilary Duff said Wednesday (Dec. 16).
Duff announced the project’s end in an Instagram post, writing that “the stars just didn’t align” for the project.
“I’ve been so honored to have the character of Lizzie in my life,” Duff posted on Instagram. “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. 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. It’s what the character deserves. 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.”
“Lizzie McGuire fans have high expectations for any new stories,” Disney said in a statement. “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 revival was announced in August 2019, a few months ahead of the launch of Disney+. Duff was to have played a grown-up version of the character from the 2001-04 Disney Channel series that helped launch her career. Adam Lamberg, Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine and Jake Thomas were set to reprise their roles as well.
Series creator Terri Minsky was also attached to the revival, but she exited the series in January after two episodes had been filmed. “We concluded that we need to move in a different creative direction and are putting a new lens on the show,” a Disney spokesperson said at the time.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
