After being in the industry for over two decades, Hilary Duff is still making waves. The actress is currently starring in Hulu’s hit comedy How I Met Your Father, which just enjoyed its Season 2 premiere, but her breakout role as Lizzie McGuire will forever continue to stay in fans' hearts and minds. Despite Disney+'s failed attempt at a Lizzie revival, Duff has opened up about whether she’d want to try going down that road again in the future.
While appearing on Watch What Happens Live, Hilary Duff was asked about approaching a newly revised Lizzie reboot if given another chance at it. Although she had to dance delicately around the topic, likely due to HIMYF being on Disney-owned Hulu, she remained optimistic about the potential of bringing her animated alter ego back to the small screen. Here's how she put it, with much hemming and hawing and stammering.
Of course. … Disney+ was very new. And I think they were figuring out their... And we were figuring out our… And like, and so...I'm optimistic.
It was definitely frustrating for fans like me when Disney+ scrapped the Lizzie McGuire revival, and Hilary Duff shared her own disappointment about the cancellation not long after it happened. However, it’s excellent to hear that she hasn't entirely abandoned all hopes and intentions of giving fans an update on where the character's at these days, even if any new series likely won't have the same kind of post-YA tones that Disney was reportedly skittish about previously.
In the midst of Lizzie’s then-unknown fate on Disney+, Duff wanted the revival on Hulu instead of the more youth-geared Disney streamer, so that she and the creative team could give fans Lizzie in her 30s and tackling issues that people have in their 30s. Now Disney+ has started to show more mature shows and movies on the streamer, with the Netflix Marvel shows being key examples, it’s possible they may take another look at a matured revival of the beloved Disney series.
With Hilary Duff starring in How I Met Your Father, it would probably be a while until a Lizzie McGuire revival could come together, if one ever does. HIMYF is arguably one of the best shows on Hulu, where it's also seemingly proving itself to be quite popular, and not just because HIMYM stars keep popping up. That’s not to say that Duff can’t be front and center on two successful shows at the same time, but it would come down to scheduling details, and it doesn’t seem like anything’s on the docket.
It should be pointed out that even though the Lizzie McGuire revival was shelved, the first two episodes were still filmed prior to things going downhill. Duff even revealed she’d considered leaking the filmed episodes, but I would honestly rather have zero new episodes than two from a non-canonical follow-up. Though I'd definitely take them if Disney execs change their minds and opt to bounce back to the idea that sparked the revival in the first place.
While waiting and hoping for a revival, be sure to watch both seasons of Lizzie McGuire and The Lizzie McGuire Movie with a Disney+ subscription! New episodes of How I Met Your Father drop weekly on Tuesdays with a Hulu subscription.
