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 fallacious, and whether or not or not he believes a revival will nonetheless occur someday.

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 observe 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 mother and father’ house after a breakup. Along with Duff and Thomas, the actors who performed Lizzie’s mother and father, 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 inventive 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 might proceed to discover grownup topics — however the present was finally axed in 2020.

Whereas talking with TooFab, Thomas shared particulars about what went down in these two episodes of the canceled reboot — properly, these he thinks he is allowed to share — and recalled his disappointment when the reboot finally broke down.

“For the reboot, of the 2 episodes that we shot, I am unsure even to this present day how a lot I can reveal of like, plot strains and stuff,” he admitted with amusing. “However I do know, I imply, sure issues had been deliberate.”

“I do know that they had been, you recognize, attempting to guide the present in a sure route. After which, you recognize, different folks at energy had been additionally attempting to guide the present in a unique route,” he continued. “I’ll say that, you recognize, the primary two episodes sort of arrange Lizzie as you recognize, 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 sort of falling aside, and her coming again house, and sort of in a approach having to begin from scratch, which I believe is sort of a enjoyable spin on it.”

As for what his character Matt was as much as, Thomas stated, “I used to be fairly pleased with what my character had. Matt was going to be simply annoyingly profitable. And simply rubbing, you recognize,  Lizzie’s nostril in it, which I believe I simply, it is nice. It is unbelievable. I like that.”

“I am disillusioned 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, you recognize, I imply, that is the way in which it goes generally in Hollywood,” he added, noting that he is had his “justifiable share” of pilots that may by no means see the sunshine of day.

Thomas has beforehand pointed to a serious timing concern concerning the Lizzie McGuire revival cancelation in interviews, together with the pandemic. Nonetheless, he advised 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.

“Once I stated earlier than that, like, it was a timing concern, I do suppose it was a timing concern of sort of across the time of COVID, however I believe in all probability a very powerful timing concern 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 you recognize, the classics. It was gonna be stuff that was like Disney by means of and thru, they usually had been having Lizzie McGuire inside that umbrella.”

“That is why they, you recognize, the thought of, like, transferring it to Hulu was not so well-liked, I believe throughout the Disney, you recognize, inside aspect 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+ sort of form that we would like. And I believe now, clearly, that is modified an entire lot, you recognize, 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 completely different panorama, in comparison with the way it was when it launched.”

If the Lizzie McGuire reboot had been to be in improvement right this moment, Thomas stated he believes they’d have gone “and not using a hitch.”

“In my view, I believe that, you recognize, say we by no means did these two episodes of the reboot, and right this moment we had been gonna do the reboot with the very same perhaps sort of trajectory that a number of the folks throughout the inventive wished, I believe we in all probability would’ve had no concern., which is unlucky.”

When TooFab requested Thomas if he thinks it will possibly occur sooner or later, he defined, “I believe, you recognize, if the fitting folks right this moment determined that, you recognize, they wished to have one other crack at it, I believe it could in all probability go and not using 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 street from that falling aside, and individuals are nonetheless speaking about it and being like, ‘This is the reason I subscribed to Disney+!’ So I, you recognize, yeah, I believe it could nonetheless in all probability do properly, however you recognize, time will inform if that’ll occur. Simply the fitting folks need to be on board.”

In the meantime, Thomas additionally mirrored on his time capturing the OG present, which can 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 advised 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 totally completely different individual virtually. I vaguely keep in mind, you recognize, sure scenes and episodes and occasions from that. However I imply, that was like a lifetime in the past, which is loopy.”

“However on the similar time, too, you recognize, I really feel that the present and, you recognize, my character have had such a big effect, I really feel like on, you recognize, simply millennial tradition as it’s,” he continued. “And it appears like I am by no means separated from that. It is all the time 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, you recognize, I imply, for one factor, how all people appears to be like again on it as one thing that they love. So I completely, that is a blessing.”

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 discuss it right this moment, I really feel prefer it’s a mixture of a pair issues,” Thomas defined. “One, it is sort of from this time the place the web was nonetheless very new. Social media was not a factor. So in a approach, it was sort of, I do not know, it sort of untouched by a social media sphere in a approach. And it wasn’t as milked dry for all that social media content material. And it was only a present that you’d watch, you recognize, each weekday or every time it got here on.”

“And it was an thrilling a part of your day after faculty,” he added. “There wasn’t like a bunch of stuff you had been, you recognize, you did not come again house 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 observe your episode of Lizzie McGuire. And I believe that is actually particular.”

He went on to focus on the present’s messaging.

“I imply, every little thing in there … our plot strains, though we had actually humorous and foolish moments, we all the time appeared to have a fairly clear message that we had been attempting to get throughout, whether or not it was about rising up, whether or not it was about household, about pals, 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 means of their lives and possibly held fairly pricey to their hearts. So I really feel like there’s quite a lot of various things, however quite a lot of issues that sort 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! Study why he did not get to go to Rome to shoot the movie within the full interview on the prime of this put up.