Everything We Know About the Lizzie McGuire Reboot

UPDATE: December 16, 2020: Sadly, Hilary Duff revealed that despite everyone's best efforts, the Lizzie McGuire reboot isn't happening. Read her full statement, below.

UPDATE: Thursday, January 9, 2020, at 8:25 p.m. E.T. — A Disney spokesperson told TVLine that production on the Lizzie McGuire reboot has shut down. The original series creator, Terri Minsky, has stepped down as the reboot's showrunner. It was slated to premiere on Disney's streaming platform, Disney+, this year. The age-old "creative differences" seem to be the cause of this rift.

“Fans have a sentimental attachment to Lizzie McGuire and high expectations for a new series,” a Disney spokesperson said to TVLine. “After filming two episodes, we concluded that we need to move in a different creative direction and are putting a new lens on the series.”

According to TVLine, Minsky is an executive producer on the reboot, as well, though it's not clear whether she will stay in that position. We'll update this post with more information as it comes in.

ORIGINAL STORY :

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Hilary Duff fans were thrilled to learn on August 23 that the singer-actor would be coming back to the role that made her famous: Lizzie McGuire.

The Disney show of the same name, which ran from 2001 to 2004 (plus a 2003 movie), followed the life of 13-year-old Lizzie and her best friends Miranda (Lalaine) and Gordo (Adam Lamberg) as they navigate all the ups and downs of teenage life. Another “character” was Lizzie’s animated avatar, who monologued her inner thoughts about all that was going on in her world.

There aren’t many details yet, but here’s everything we know.

The cast: Duff is definitely returning—and she’s excited. “The good news is, just like me and everybody who loved Lizzie and has grown up with her, Lizzie’s also grown up,” she said onstage during the announcement about the reboot. “She’s older, she’s wiser, she has a much bigger shoe budget, which is super exciting. She has her dream job. She has kind of the perfect life right now.” She revealed the the project has been in the works for a while on her Instagram.

“SURPRISE!!! I’ve been trying to contain this excitement for a loooong time while this has been in the works!” she wrote. “I am beyond excited to be home again, back with my girl ♥️...and into her 30’s.”

Adam Lamberg is also returning to play Gordo, Lizzie's best friend. “Gordo was an essential piece of the puzzle to what made the original Lizzie McGuire so authentic and beloved,” said Duff in a statement, per Entertainment Weekly. “I couldn’t imagine the series without him. I can’t wait for fans to see what he’s up to 15 years later and how he fits into Lizzie’s adult world.”

The setting: The show will reportedly pick up with Lizzie on the brink of 30, living her millennial best life in NYC. She’s got a place in Brooklyn and a job as an apprentice to an interior designer, and like the rest of us, she’s just trying to figure it all out.

In an interview with New York magazine’s Vulture, Duff revealed a few more twists, and it sounds as if the whole show won’t be set in Brooklyn: “She’s not going to stay in Brooklyn too long, actually. That’s where she’s been, but she’ll be coming back to Los Angeles. She’s forced out of New York. She’s like, ‘I can’t be here anymore,’” she said.

Lizzie’s relationship status: Lizzie has a boyfriend in the new series, and he’s a restaurateur who owns a spot in SoHo. Not too shabby.

That means she’s not with Gordo. But Duff herself isn’t too sad about that relationship ending. “You know what, I don’t know if I was as devastated by that,” she admitted during her Vulture interview.

She continued, “I feel like them not being together is what was so good…. It’s that one person that you’re like, ‘Was he the one? Is it ever going to be?’ You’re always kind of wondering. We wanted it to hurt everyone a little bit, and it’ll continue to hurt.”

That being said, Duff is holding out hope that Lamberg will join the reboot in some capacity. “I really hope he’s going to be involved,” she told Vulture. “We’ve been planning out the season and coming up with what everything looks like, and it’s so important for him to be there for part of it.”

But another classic male character might be returning to the reboot: Ethan Craft, played by Clayton Snyder. In a November 2019 interview with E!, Duff hinted that Lizzie may even have "a thing" with her middle school crush. "He is hot. He's very hot," Duff said of Snyder. "I'm pretty sure there's going to be, there's going to be a thing."

Why now? “I think it’s the right time to set back in and have her go along with you in your 30s and all the fun times, and all of the big monumental moments, and all of the challenges that you’re faced with,” Duff told People. “I just thought that there was an opportunity there for her to be grown-up and for her to be there for women again.”

Of Lizzie, Duff told Vulture, “She was everyone’s best friend. She was faced with every challenge that was relatable. Now I think stepping into the role as a 30-year-old trying to navigate life is equally interesting…that’s an interesting story to me, and that’s a good journey I want to go on with everyone again who was there for her preteen years.”

Wait, what about Younger? Not to fear, Younger fans: Duff is reportedly going to juggle this role and that of Kelsey Peters on her other hit show. It’s unclear at this point if any of the other original Lizzie McGuire cast members will join the reboot.

Premiere date: Stay tuned!

Duff’s hair is now even blonder: Apparently it’s the kind of blond Lizzie would have as a grown-up. “Never in a million years did I think I would be doing Lizzie’s color!🙌🏼 Well dreams do come true!💫 Thank you @hilaryduff for trusting me to create the perfect blonde for the next chapter of Lizzie Mcguire,” hairstylist Nikki Lee posted to Instagram.

And in several Instagram stories from November 15, Duff revealed that she wasn't just experimenting with shades of blond. She'd gone back to her stylist to get an updated version of the iconic Lizzie bangs she wore during most of the show. Of course, because some time has passed, the new bangs are more contemporary—they're a little longer and cooler, fitting for Duff's style now. But they're still very Lizzie and definitely inspo-worthy.

We have the first photo from the set: Finally, a first look! Duff posted a pic of the original McGuire family—herself, Hallie Todd, Jake Thomas, and Robert Carradine—in what will become the family’s living room set. “We are standing in what will soon be the McGuire living room. What’s up fam. We doin this #lizziemcguire #disneyplus,” she wrote on October 25. So exciting!

And photos from the first day actually filming: It took place in New York City’s Washington Square Park.

An alpaca was involved, apparently.

On November 7, Duff shared more photos from the set in which she also showed off a new "L" necklace, a blue outfit that might say "Gwen," and some to-die-for hair accessories. Teenage Lizzie would be so proud.

Duff just can't stop sharing photos of herself back in character as Lizzie. She captioned the latest one (on November 19), "Somebody wake me."

Originally Appeared on Glamour