Hilary Duff on the Future of Her 'Lizzie McGuire' Reboot: 'I Have High Hopes'

After filming the first two episodes of the reboot, Disney+ announced in January that series creator Terri Minsky had exited her post as showrunner

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Photo: Disney

Hilary Duff isn't giving up on Lizzie McGuire just yet.

The 32-year-old actress still has "high hopes" that the reboot of the popular Disney Channel original series will come to fruition after production on the project was halted due to behind-the-scenes issues.

Speaking to E! News, Duff revealed that conversations are still happening about bringing her character back to viewers' screens, sharing, "We are very much still in conversation with them a couple of times a week, which is really nice."

"We started shooting, and then obviously that got on hold for a couple of different reasons not involving the pandemic, but you know what, I have high hopes that we are going to make it work," she added.

LIZZIE MCGUIRE, 2001-present, Lalaine, Hilary Duff, Adam Lamberg
Lizzie McGuire. Courtesy Everett Collection

After filming the first two episodes of the reboot — which stars Duff as the titular character, now a 30-year-old millennial in New York City — Disney+ announced in January that series creator Terri Minsky had exited her post as showrunner.

Variety previously reported that sources said Duff and Minsky wanted to create an "adult version" of the beloved tween show, but Disney was looking to keep it kid-friendly.

"It's like a responsibility to [Lizzie], honoring her and the fanbase that grew up with her," Duff also told E! News. "We kind of put her on pause, and had to go back to the drawing board, but I feel optimistic that it will happen."

"A lot of writing is happening," Duff added, though there has been no official word on whether or not the show will be moving forward. "We are being told to have patience, which is good, so I feel optimistic."

Lizzie McGuire

Back in February, Duff addressed the news about the reboot, saying that it would be a “disservice” to tell the story of a 30-year-old character with a PG rating.

"Was incredibly excited to launch ‘Lizzie’ on D+ and my passion remains!" the mother of two began a statement, shared on Instagram, earlier this year. "However, I feel a huge responsibility to honor the fans' relationship with LIZZIE who, like me, grew up seeing themselves in her. I’d be doing a disservice to everyone by limiting the realities of a 30 year old’s journey to live under the ceiling of a PG rating."

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Duff later posted a screenshot of an article from The Advocate regarding Disney+’s decision to move a Love, Simon television adaption to Hulu, captioning the shot, "Sounds familiar."

Duff has expressed interest in moving the Lizzie McGuire reboot to Hulu, writing in her February Instagram post, "It would be a dream if Disney would let us move the show to Hulu, if they were interested, and I could bring this beloved character to life again."

The idea to move the project to Hulu was also one brought up in the Variety report by Minsky.

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