Hilary Duff Speaks Out After Lizzie McGuire Reboot Is Stalled, Says She Wants It to Move to Hulu
Hilary Duff is speaking out about the Lizzie McGuire reboot after production on the Disney+ project was put on hiatus.
Variety reported Thursday that the reason original showrunner and series creator Terri Minsky exited the project was because she and Duff wanted to create an “adult version” of the beloved tween show, but Disney was looking to keep it kid-friendly.
One day later, the 32-year-old actress said 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 her statement, shared on Instagram on Friday. “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.”
RELATED: Disney Fired Lizzie McGuire Showrunner Because Reboot Was Too ‘Adult’: Report
“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,” Duff added. “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.”
A rep for Disney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The idea to move the project to Hulu is one brought up in the Variety report by Minsky.
“I am so proud of the two episodes we did,” she told the outlet.
“Hilary has a grasp of Lizzie McGuire at 30 that needs to be seen,” Minsky continued. “It’s a wonderful thing to watch. I would love the show to exist, but ideally I would love it if it could be given that treatment of going to Hulu and doing the show that we were doing. That’s the part where I am completely in the dark. It’s important to me that this show was important to people. I felt like I wanted to do a show that was worthy of that kind of devotion.”
On Wednesday, Duff shared a screenshot from The Advocate discussing the move of a Love, Simon television adaptation — renamed Love, Victor — from Disney+ to Hulu — which is owned by The Walt Disney Company.
“Sounds familiar..” the Younger star wrote atop the screenshot, circling the headline about the series apparently not being “family friendly.”
Disney+ already included footage of the Lizzie McGuire reboot in a teaser for content arriving in 2020, and Duff had shared multiple photos from set, including one of herself posing with costar Adam Lamberg.
A Disney spokesperson said Thursday that its goal is to resume production.
“We paused production on ‘Lizzie McGuire’ a few weeks ago to allow time for some creative re-development,” the statement said. “Our goal is to resume production and to tell an authentic story that connects to the millions who are emotionally invested in the character, and a new generation of viewers too.”
According to sources in Variety’s report, however, it is “unlikely” for the project to move forward on Disney+.
