Why did the Lizzie McGuire reboot never happen? Details revealed 

The Lizzie McGuire show, which premiered on the Disney Channel on 12th January 2001, ran for two seasons, till 17th February 2004. Exploring the struggles of teenage years, Lizzie McGuire also had a film called The Lizzie McGuire Movie, which was released in 2003.

Due to its popularity, the show was supposed to be rebooted and return with many of the original cast. However, after filming two episodes of the show in 2019, the reboot was cancelled in December 2020. No concrete reason was given behind the cancellation. Now, Jake Tomas, who played Matt McGuire in the show, has revealed in an interview with PEOPLE why the reboot was cancelled.

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Why was the Lizzie McGuire reboot cancelled?

The show followed Lizzie McGuire (played by Hillary Duff), a teenager navigating the challenges of growing up. Alongside her close friends, Miranda (played by Lalaine) and Gordo (played by Adam Lamberg), Lizzie experiences the ups and downs of junior high, including conflicts with a popular classmate, Kate (played by Ashlie Brillault), and a crush on Ethan (played by Clayton Snyder). She strives to discover her true self while struggling with the desire to fit in socially.

At home, Lizzie has a good relationship with her parents, Jo (played by Hallie Todd) and Sam (played by Robert Carradine), and her younger brother, Matt (played by Jake Tomas). An animated version of Lizzie appeared throughout the series, offering insight into her inner thoughts and feelings, often directly addressing the audience.

Given how well the show addressed children, it was widely popular during its run, and remains one of the best shows of Disney Channel. In 2019, a reboot of the show was announced with Duff and a few other original cast members set to reprise their roles. But it was cancelled without much of a reason.

Jake Tomas told PEOPLE in a recent interview about the reboot, saying,

“I had heard rumblings for many years that they were trying to put something together, whether it was another movie or a series or something, but none of those rumors really ever held weight to me,”

he continued,

“Then suddenly, it just came together very quickly. And we filmed two episodes at the end of 2019, and unfortunately when we came back January-ish, things had started to fall apart.”

“Then 2020 happened and it was the wrong time, it was the wrong circumstances,”

referring to difficult times that was created by the COVID-19 pandemic. He continued to say,

“I feel like sometimes it just kind of works out that way. That's Hollywood. That's the way I've always phrased it. It's disappointing, but I was really looking forward to people getting to see the characters again. It was really exciting.”

“Whether or not it will be revisited again in the future, it's very hard to say,”

He continues,

“I still stay very optimistic about it just because we went from the end of the original series in the movie to the reboot happening, and we had something like 17 years in between.”

He also said,

“I still think that the show holds such a very special cultural value to a millennial audience, and there's definitely a hunger for that audience to see what their favorite characters are up to these days and how they've adapted to this world. Because they were dealing with the same issues as us as a kid, and it would be very interesting to see their millennial take on it today.”

Hillary Duff talked about the future of the Lizzie McGuire reboot in a 2022 episode of the In Her Shoes podcast by The Cut. She said,

“I think there’s always a possibility there. And even if she’s 40, I don’t think people care. It’s always going to be somewhat interesting to people to see where she ended up.”

Both Lizzie McGuire and The Lizzie McGuire Movie are streaming on Disney+

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