The ‘How I Met Your Father’ Trailer Is Here and All Fans Can See Is Grown-Up Lizzie McGuire
The first full trailer for How I Met Your Father has arrived. Starring Hilary Duff, this spinoff to the classic How I Met Your Mother follows a woman named Sophie as she tells her kids about her younger days of dating and trying to find the right man to settle down with. Ahead of the show’s January release date, Hulu finally shared the first look at Sophie’s antics with her friends. Duff might be Sophie now, but those who watched the actor in her Disney days can only see her as Lizzie McGuire.
‘How I Met Your Father’ trailer puts Hilary Duff’s character in the dating world
The trailer, seen below, begins with an older version of Sophie (Kim Cattrall) telling her kids, “This is the story of how I met your father.” She then set the stage: the year is 2022, and it’s “hard to live in the moment.”
From there, the video shows Duff’s Sophie explaining that she went on 87 Tinder dates in one year. Big surprise: none of them went very well. As Sophie continues her search for her “next great love story,” she spends time with her friends in New York City and meets plenty of interesting people. Other cast members in the trailer include Chris Lowell, Francia Raisa, Tien Tran, Josh Peck, and more.
So far, the show seems to have tons of hilariously embarrassing moments and adult humor — two things fans loved about How I Met Your Mother. Will the Hulu series live up to fans’ expectations after the CBS original?
Many fans are reminded of Hilary Duff’s Disney days as Lizzie McGuire
So far, the response to the How I Met Your Father trailer seems mostly positive. However, fans couldn’t help but point out how much Sophie reminded them of Lizzie McGuire. The character has a funky sense of style that seems close to Lizzie’s.
“This is Lizzie McGuire, not Sophie from How I Met Your Father, and you cannot tell me otherwise,” one person tweeted with a photo of Sophie.
“OK, Hilary Duff is straight up wearing a Lizzie McGuire outfit in this How I Met Your Father trailer,” another user pointed out.
Some fans decided that they would simply look at How I Met Your Father as a Lizzie McGuire reboot. The comedy series aired on Disney from 2001 to 2004, and many fans have pushed for a revival.
“How I Met Your Father is just the Lizzie McGuire reboot we were robbed of,” one tweet read.
“Hilary in How I Met Your Father will deliver what Lizzie never could,” another person added.
Hilary Duff almost starred in a ‘Lizzie McGuire’ reboot
To be fair, Duff did try to create a Lizzie McGuire reboot. Back in 2019, Disney+ had planned to film a reimagined version of the show with Lizzie living in New York City at 30 years old. In addition to Duff, several other original cast members signed on to join the reboot, including Hallie Todd (Jo McGuire), Jake Thomas (Matt McGuire), and Robert Carradine (Sam McGuire).
Unfortunately, the new Lizzie McGuire didn’t get very far. A few weeks after filming began, Disney+ decided to pull the plug, reportedly because of the show’s adult themes. Duff opened up about the decision in May 2021, explaining why she didn’t think the reboot was a good fit for Disney.
“I think they were really trying to figure out what kind of content they want living on Disney+ that doesn’t totally align with where I see Lizzie right now,” the actor revealed on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show. “I’m very protective of her. And they’re very protective of her.”
It may not be the Lizzie McGuire reboot fans hoped for, but How I Met Your Father sounds more in line with Duff’s wishes.
How I Met Your Father premieres on Hulu on Jan. 18.
