Our hearts are broken! Hilary Duff revealed that Lizzie McGuire will be engaged in the sequel series, but not to her high school sweetheart and BFF, Gordo. While some diehard fans of the former Disney show — which ran from 2001 to 2004 — may be crushed by this news, the actress revealed that it makes the plot a whole lot more interesting.
“You know what, I don’t know if I was as devastated by that,” Hilary, 31, confessed in an interview with Vulture on September 4 about the show, which is set to air on the upcoming streaming service Disney+.
To give a little background info: The revamped series will follow a 30-something Lizzie apprenticing for a swanky New York City interior designer until she’s apparently “forced out” of the Big Apple and has to return home to Los Angeles. The iconic Disney babe does have a love interest who she’s reportedly engaged to, but it’s not who fans would expect. After Lizzie and Gordo shared their sweet kiss at the end of The Lizzie McGuire Movie, we were hopeful that she and Adam Lamberg‘s character would be together forever. However, the blonde actress admits that’s “what was so good” about the story.
“It’s that one person that you’re like, ‘Was he the one? Is it ever going to be?’ You’re always kind of wondering,” she explained. “We wanted it to hurt everyone a little bit, and it’ll continue to hurt. I really hope he’s going to be involved. We’ve been planning out the season and coming up with what everything looks like, and it’s so important for him to be there for part of it.” Mission accomplished, we’re already hurt and there’s not even a premiere date for the show yet!
Why did Hilary decide to reprise her role 15 years later? “Finally being in my 30s, it felt like a good time to revisit her,” she confessed. “It’s a complicated stage. That’s what people loved about Lizzie so much — that phase of becoming a teenager. It’s such a complicated but fun part of time to navigate. She was everyone’s best friend. She was faced with every challenge that was relatable.”
The Younger star was able to borrow some of the same feelings from her own life experiences. “Now, I think stepping into the role as a 30-year-old trying to navigate life is equally interesting. Or more specifically, waking up on your 30th birthday and thinking, ‘This isn’t how I planned this to look, what do I do now?’ That’s an interesting story to me, and that’s a good journey I want to go on with everyone again who was there for her preteen years,” she explained.
We seriously can’t wait!