Meet a whole new Lizzie! Hilary Duff is only weeks into filming the new Lizzie McGuire series for Disney+ but she can’t wait to show the world the revival.
“Her having a completely different life than Hilary — she doesn’t have kids — I thought it would be a really fun experience to go through it with her,” Duff, 32, told Us Weekly exclusively at the Love Leo Rescue’s Cocktails for a Cause event on Wednesday, November 6. “I think it’s going to be a really good mix of giving everyone what they want from the show in the past, and also a new fresh show and her at 30, which looks completely different.”
The Younger actress, who starred in the original series on the Disney Channel from 2001 to 2004 and in the 2003 movie, is also an executive producer on the show.
“I feel so connected to her obviously from the past, so it’s been really fun to be a part of the whole creative process as well,” she added, but also admitted it’s a ton of work. “I have to give Sutton Foster [on Younger] a lot of credit because I forgot what it’s like to be the absolute star of a show when you’re in every single scene and every single story line. You don’t have a free minute all day long! I thought I was busy with Kelsey but this is a whole other level, but it’s a dream come true.”
While conversations about reviving the series have happened multiple times over the years, the singer noted that she never really saw it coming to fruition.
“I loved that character, obviously. There were times when I never wanted to hear her name again, and there were times when I was extremely grateful for the experience, having her in my life just like everybody else had her and for all of the opportunities that it created for me,” she explained. “After meeting with Disney on multiple occasions about possibly bringing it back, finally the story line felt right.”
In addition to Duff, Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine and Jake Thomas will also return as Lizzie’s parents, Jo and Sam, and her little brother, Matthew McGuire, respectively.
The Lizzie McGuire revival will air in 2020 on Disney+.
With reporting by Ingrid Meilan