Hilary Duff/Instagram/Buena Vista TelevisionThis isn’t what dreams are made of: Lizzie McGuire fans will need to hold on tight for a little longer, as the Disney+ reboot has hit the brakes.
In August last year, Hilary Duff ignited the hype machine when she announced she’d be reprising the iconic character. ‘I am beyond excited. I’ve really missed her,’ she said.
However, after filming just two episodes, production on the show has shut down.
Not many details are known about the Lizzie McGuire reboot other than it’s set to pick up with the character in her 30s, navigating adulthood alongside her beloved friends and family. Production began on the show in November last year, with Adam Lamberg, Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine and Jake Thomas all returning.
However, a statement from Disney has explained that after filming two episodes, the studio concluded it needed to move in ‘a different creative direction’.
After filming just two episodes the series’ creator Terri Minsky has stepped down from the revival.
The statement, as per Variety, read:
Fans have a sentimental attachment to Lizzie McGuire and high expectations for a new series. After filming two episodes, we concluded that we need to move in a different creative direction and are putting a new lens on the show.
Minsky still has a larger deal in play with Disney, with the Lizzie McGuire reboot only making up one part of a bigger planned portfolio – those unknown projects are said to still be moving forward.
Buena Vista TelevisionProduction has also halted on the show this week as Duff is currently honeymooning in Mozambique with her new husband, Matthew Koma.
Since its debut on Disney Channel on 2001, the original Lizzie McGuire series perpetually cycled kids’ screens long after its two-season run concluded. Following a 13-year-old girl trying to navigate the highs and pitfalls of middle school, it established Duff as worldwide household name.
It was so popular it inspired a feature film adaption, 2003’s aptly titled The Lizzie McGuire Movie, which raked in a whopping $55 million at the box office.
Buena Vista TelevisionDuff said earlier last year: ‘I think now is a great time for her to come back in her thirties. You know she’s everybody’s best friend and I can’t wait to go on this next chapter with her, and I hope everyone is as excited as I am.’
A new showrunner for the Lizzie McGuire reboot has yet to be announced.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.