The actor — who performed Matt McGuire within the beloved sequence — reveals what he believes was the “most vital” difficulty behind the revival not coming to fruition, teases what his character was as much as within the first two episodes that had been filmed, and shares if he believes a revival might occur sometime.
The Lizzie McGuire Disney+ revival was what followers’ goals had been product of … till it was sadly scrapped after solely two episodes had been shot.
Now, practically 5 years after star Hilary Duff introduced that the reboot was formally canceled, actor Jake Thomas — AKA Matt McGuire — is opening as much as TooFab about what went flawed, and whether or not or not he believes a revival will nonetheless occur in the future.
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For individuals who want a refresher, Lizzie McGuire — starring a teenage Duff because the titular character — ran on Disney Channel from 2001 till 2004, consisting of two seasons and 65 episodes. The present additionally spawned the beloved 2023 spinoff movie, The Lizzie McGuire Film.
In 2019, Disney introduced {that a} revival sequence was in improvement, with the present to premiere on its streamer, Disney+, which hadn’t even launched but. (Sure, it has been that lengthy.)
The Lizzie McGuire reboot was stated to comply with the adventures of Duff’s titular character as she’s on the cusp of her thirtieth birthday, dwelling in New York and dealing as an assistant to an inside decorator, earlier than she moved again to her dad and mom’ residence after a breakup. Along with Duff and Thomas, the actors who performed Lizzie’s dad and mom, Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine, alongside along with her pal, Adam Lamberg, who starred as Gordo, had been set to reprise their roles.
The extremely anticipated revival sequence shot solely two episodes earlier than manufacturing was placed on pause when showrunner Terri Minsky, who additionally created the unique sequence, exited the present, reportedly because of artistic variations with Disney. On the time, it was reported that Duff and Minskey wished a extra mature model of Lizzie McGuire for the reboot, whereas the Mouse Home wished one thing extra family-friendly. Duff shared a publicly plea for Disney to maneuver the sequence to Hulu in order that they may proceed to discover grownup topics — however the present was in the end axed in 2020.
Whereas talking with TooFab, Thomas shared particulars about what went down in these two episodes of the canceled reboot — nicely, these he thinks he is allowed to share — and recalled his disappointment when the reboot in the end broke down.
“For the reboot, of the 2 episodes that we shot, I am unsure even to today how a lot I can expose of like, plot strains and stuff,” he admitted with fun. “However I do know, I imply, sure issues had been deliberate.”
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“I do know that they had been, , making an attempt to guide the present in a sure route. After which, , different folks at energy had been additionally making an attempt to guide the present in a distinct route,” he continued. “I’ll say that, , the primary two episodes form of arrange Lizzie as , that is her life as an grownup millennial turning 30, and seeing her life in New York. After which in a short time all of it form of falling aside, and her coming again residence, and form of in a manner having to start out from scratch, which I believe is form of a enjoyable spin on it.”
As for what his character Matt was as much as, Thomas stated, “I used to be fairly proud of what my character had. Matt was going to be simply annoyingly profitable. And simply rubbing, , Lizzie’s nostril in it, which I believe I simply, it is nice. It is implausible. I like that.”
“I am upset that we did not get to discover much more with these characters and storylines. I do know there was a lot deliberate that was gonna be like, what?! However yeah, , I imply, that is the way in which it goes generally in Hollywood,” he added, noting that he is had his “fair proportion” of pilots that may by no means see the sunshine of day.
Thomas has beforehand pointed to a serious timing difficulty relating to the Lizzie McGuire revival cancelation in interviews, together with the pandemic. Nonetheless, he informed TooFab that there was a a lot larger issue: Disney+ hadn’t even launched but! And whereas the streamer began out kid-friendly, quick ahead to the current, Disney+ has content material for all ages, with Hulu additionally combining with the streaming service — one thing that Thomas identified.
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“After I stated earlier than that, like, it was a timing difficulty, I do assume it was a timing difficulty of form of across the time of COVID, however I believe in all probability crucial timing difficulty with why the reboot didn’t come to fruition was Disney+ had not launched but,” he defined. “And so internally, I believe Disney did not know precisely what they wished their streamer to be. And so I believe they began out with this concept at first that the issues that had been gonna be on Disney+ had been gonna be purely family-friendly. It was gonna be the animated, it was gonna be the , the classics. It was gonna be stuff that was like Disney by and thru, they usually had been having Lizzie McGuire inside that umbrella.”
“That is why they, , the thought of, like, shifting it to Hulu was not so fashionable, I believe throughout the Disney, , inside facet that they wished it to be. ‘No, no, no, it is a Disney-branded factor,'” he continued. “We would like this to suit into the Disney+ form of form that we would like. And I believe now, clearly, that is modified an entire lot, , simply with the entire streaming sphere, and local weather, even simply throughout the Disney umbrella now, for those who go on Disney+, it is a very totally different panorama, in comparison with the way it was when it launched.”
If the Lizzie McGuire reboot had been to be in improvement in the present day, Thomas stated he believes they might have gone “with out a hitch.”
“For my part, I believe that, , say we by no means did these two episodes of the reboot, and in the present day we had been gonna do the reboot with the very same possibly form of trajectory that a number of the folks throughout the artistic wished, I believe we in all probability would’ve had no difficulty., which is unlucky.”
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When TooFab requested Thomas if he thinks it might probably occur sooner or later, he defined, “I believe, , if the fitting folks in the present day determined that, , they wished to have one other crack at it, I believe it could in all probability go with out a hitch.”
“And I believe folks would nonetheless be actually excited to see it simply because, I imply, look, we’re 5 years down the highway from that falling aside, and persons are nonetheless speaking about it and being like, ‘Because of this I subscribed to Disney+!’ So I, , yeah, I believe it could nonetheless in all probability do nicely, however , time will inform if that’ll occur. Simply the fitting folks must be on board.”
In the meantime, Thomas additionally mirrored on his time taking pictures the OG present, which is able to flip 25 in January.
“Does it really feel prefer it’s been 25 years or 1 / 4 of a century now? Sure and no,” he informed TooFab. “I might say to a sure diploma it does really feel like a very long time in the past, as a result of generally I’ll see clips of the present and be like, Man, … I see that as now a very totally different individual nearly. I vaguely bear in mind, , sure scenes and episodes and instances from that. However I imply, that was like a lifetime in the past, which is loopy.”
“However on the identical time, too, , I really feel that the present and, , my character have had such a big effect, I really feel like on, , simply millennial tradition as it’s,” he continued. “And it looks like I am by no means separated from that. It is at all times been part of my life, which I believe is a little bit of a blessing and a curse, however I believe these days I see it extra as a blessing simply due to, , I imply, for one factor, how all people appears again on it as one thing that they love. So I completely, that is a blessing.”
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He additionally shared why he believes the present has maintained such a long-lasting legacy over twenty years later.
“I believe the factor that made Lizzie so particular that folks nonetheless speak about it in the present day, I really feel prefer it’s a mixture of a pair issues,” Thomas defined. “One, it is form of from this time the place the web was nonetheless very new. Social media was not a factor. So in a manner, it was form of, I do not know, it form of untouched by a social media sphere in a manner. And it wasn’t as milked dry for all that social media content material. And it was only a present that you’d watch, , each weekday or every time it got here on.”
“And it was an thrilling a part of your day after college,” he added. “There wasn’t like a bunch of stuff you had been, , you did not come again residence and watch a bunch of YouTube movies or watch no matter was on streaming. … You had been there precisely at the moment, at that day to look at your episode of Lizzie McGuire. And I believe that is actually particular.”
He went on to spotlight the present’s messaging.
“I imply, the whole lot in there … our plot strains, despite the fact that we had actually humorous and foolish moments, we at all times appeared to have a fairly clear message that we had been making an attempt to get throughout, whether or not it was about rising up, whether or not it was about household, about associates, about powerful conditions,” Thomas shared. “I really feel all of that was tremendous related, even to me rising up at the moment. All of these messages had been stuff that an viewers took with them by their lives and doubtless held fairly pricey to their hearts. So I really feel like there’s lots of various things, however lots of issues that form of made it particular, which is nice.”
Noting that Lizzie herself was tremendous relatable, Thomas stated, “She made errors, and you bought to see her make the errors, which was nice.”
The actor additionally shared the surprising revelation that he did NOT get to movie in Rome, Italy, together with a number of of his co-stars for 2003’s The Lizzie McGuire Movie … and nonetheless has but to go to town! Be taught why he did not get to go to Rome to shoot the movie within the full interview on the high of this put up.
