Lizzie McGuire reboot officially cancelled, Hilary Duff confirms

Hilary Duff has confirmed the much anticipated reboot of Lizzie McGuire on Disney+ has officially been cancelled.

In a lengthy post to her fans on Instagram, the star told her followers that “despite everyone’s best efforts, it isn’t going to happen”.

News of the Lizzie McGuire reboot was first announced at Disney‘s D23 Expo back in August 2019, where the actress also made an appearance.

At the time she also took to Instagram, writing: “I am beyond excited to be home again, back with my girl... and into her 30’s.”

However, there was almost immediately drama surrounding the reboot, as it was ‘put on hold’ by Disney in January, despite having already filmed two episodes.

Now, Hilary has confirmed the “stars just didn’t align”.

“I’ve been so honored to have the character of Lizzie in my life,” the 33-year-old wrote on Thursday.

“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.

The expectant mum then confirmed the reboot was cancelled, adding: “I want any reboot of Lizzie to be honest and authentic to who Lizzie would be today. It’s what the character deserves.”

At the end of 2019, Disney had revealed that by some miracle, the entire original McGuire family was on board for the epilogue series.

Actors Hallie Todd (Jo), Robert Carradine (Sam), and Jake Thomas (Matt) joined Hilary ahead of a table read, posing for a sentimental snap shared by Disney Plus last October.

The reboot series was meant to follow a now-30-year-old Lizzie, who is making her way in the hustle and bustle of New York City as an apprentice for a big-shot decorator.

And initially the original series’ creator Terri Minsky was going to be behind the reboot, and cartoon Lizzie was also in for the project.

Sadly, by February it was clear a reboot was likely on the rocks, when it was revealed by Variety Terri Minsky decided to step away from production, after it was halted over concerns it wasn’t ‘family-friendly’.

Hilary subsequently made a public plea to Disney amid the drama, saying it would be a ‘disservice’ to fans to ‘limit’ the show to a PG audience and urged Disney to pass it over to another streaming platform, Hulu.

“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.”

“It’s important to me that just as her experiences as a preteen/teenager navigating life were authentic, her next chapters are equally as real and relatable. 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.”

Hulu is owned by The Walt Disney Company and produces more mature content such as The Handmaids Tale, Shrill and Marvel's Runaways.

Fans were incredibly excited for the reboot, and are understandably disappointed in the news of the cancellation, taking to social media to share their shock and frustration.

“No Hilary. No I won’t accept this, you guys can do it without Disney,” one fan commented on her post.

“I am genuinely so sad reading this, Lizzie is my whole life and I’m so gutted there won’t be anymore of her,” another wrote.

“[Be right back] cancelling my Disney+,” another angry fan wrote.

While a fourth said: “I hate this year.”

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