Lizzie McGuire fans rejoiced in 2018 when Hilary Duff announced that talks of a revival were happening. In 2019, that project was officially confirmed to be in the works at Disney+. However, the planned Lizzie sequel series was ultimately canceled, with creative differences having since been cited as a major reason for that. Duff has spoke about the scrapped series in recent years and is now weighing in on why execs should've considered her input on the production.
As of late, Duff has been diving back into music and has been promoting her new album, Luck... or Something. While speaking to I-D about her new music, she admitted that she might not have been able to devote so much time to producing new tracks had the Lizzie McGuire revival happened. Still, it seems she's still not pleased that the folks at the House of Mouse didn't listen to all of her suggestions:
I’m sad [those ideas] are going to waste, but maybe I feel slightly happy because I don’t know if I would have made music a priority. But I’m sad that we didn’t get to explore what her life would be like now. I have a great relationship with Disney, so no disrespect, but I feel like they should have listened to me. I’m the age of the people that would watch this, and I know what they would want. It wasn’t like I wanted something crazy, but I wanted her to be grown up. I think they were a little scared.
Creative-based complications arose due to the fact that the series was to show Lizzie's life through an adult lens. Writer Jonathan Hurwitz previously revealed some of the ideas that were tossed around for the show, including Miranda being a queer musician, Lizzie and Ethan hooking up, Lizzie having a gay roommate and more. Duff's new comments about Disney being "scared" align with the continued sentiment that the company wanted a show that didn't feel so adult.
I completely understand why Hilary Duff would be “disappointed” in the planned revival being scrapped, and she makes fair points here. While I obviously can't speak for all fans, I can say that I personally was eager to see Lizzie be "grown up" as Hilary Duff argued. So many people grew up with the character, and it could've been cool for those now-adult fans to get to revisit Lizzie as an adult. All in all, based on what's been said about the show, I also don't think Duff "wanted something crazy," just a nuanced look at adulthood through McGuire's eyes.
Production on the show was in full swing by the time the plug was pulled. Two episodes of McGuire were filmed before OG series creator Terri Minsky departed as showrunner due to creative differences. While Disney evidently wanted a more family-friendly tone, but I also think Duff's suggestion that the series be moved to Hulu could've worked.
It seems unlikely that a Lizzie McGuire revival will happen at this point, but I'm certainly holding out hope. When the A Cinderella Story actress was asked if she’d ever be open to another revival attempt, she had this to say:
Maybe! I feel like I wouldn’t do it at 40, but I might do it at 60.
A senior citizen Lizzie? I don’t know how I’d feel about that. If the show were about Lizzie’s grandchild going through experiences similar to her grandmother, I might be on board, though.
Overall, I'd say it was probably best that the Lizzie McGuire revival was scrapped if it meant compromising the adult themes that made the revival appealing in the first place. If Disney “listened” to Hilary Duff (who holds no ill will towards the studio) about taking the reboot series to a more mature direction, who knows what could've happened with the show? If anything, though, I'm glad to see Duff thriving regardless and getting to make music as she pleases.
Those who are still feeling nostalgic for Hilary Duff's Lizzie McGuire days, though, can watch the series by streaming it with a Disney+ subscription.
