Hilary Duff’s Canceled Lizzie McGuire Revival Had Such Radical Ideas Even Disney Wasn’t Happy About It

Hilary Duff aka Elizabeth McGuire, for her notable performance in the 2001 comedy series Lizzie McGuire, couldn’t make a comeback through Disney. American author, singer, actress, and businesswoman Hilary Erhard Duff has more than 125 award nominations to her name, out of which she has won 60. Her most prized possessions include 2 Young Artist Awards and 2 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.

Hilary Duff’s appearance in the 2001 comedy-drama series Lizzie McGuire made her an acclaimed actress in the United States. The series was created by Terri Minsky, starring Duff as the female lead. It premiered on 12th January 2001 on the Disney channel. The series continued till 2004. However, the series’ reboot, which was a sure shot plan, was abruptly canceled. 

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Disney wasn’t Happy with Hilary Duff’s Lizzie McGuire Revival

The 2001-2004 Lizzie McGuire comedy series premiered on Disney and after almost 19 years, the crew of Lizzie McGuire was back with a reboot plan. However, Disney was completely hesitant about the plot of the series and hence refused to premier the series again on its platform. 

The plot of the series’ revival was too adult and explicit according to Disney and hence was not an apt choice for its platform’s design. 

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Jonathan Hurwitz, through her TikTok video, gave a detailed account of the storyline of the series and explained why the OTT platform gasped. To be specific, Disney was despondent about the 3rd episode where Hilary Duff wakes up in Ethan’s bedroom. Other adult-oriented scenes made it utterly difficult for Disney+ to accept the proposal of Lizzie McGuire’s crew. 

Writer Jonathan Hurwitz on What Could Have Displeased Disney

Through her TikTok video, writer Jonathon Hurwitz spoke about the storyline of Lizzie McGuire’s revival. The story starts with Hilary Duff’s Lizzie being in New York as an interior designer. She is dating a handsome chef who later cheats on her by hooking up with her best friend. Further, there was a romantic angle between Lizzie and Gordo. However, Gordo is already engaged and is expecting a baby with another woman soon. 

Read More:  Lizzie Maguire Reboot Officially Scrapped, Announces Actor Hilary Duff

Then, at the end of 2nd episode, Lizzie’s phone beeps with a text from her childhood crush, Ethan Craft. To this point, the series was filmed. The script for the 3rd episode was ready that would have shown Lizzie waking up in Ethan’s bedroom wearing his water polo t-shirt. 

Animated Lizzie pops up there and checks her to-do list, and Ethan’s name is written on the list. Writer Jonathon Hurwitz said (via Deadline):

“Disney wasn’t comfortable with it, my guess was… that moment was probably one of them.”

When fans questioned if Lizzie ends up with her best friend Gordo, Hurwitz said that the second episode would see Lizzie find out that her childhood friend is happily engaged and is going to be a father.

Lizzie McGuire is available for streaming on Disney+.