Fear not Lizzie McGuire fans, for Gordo is indeed back in the picture. E! News can confirm Adam Lamberg is returning to the Lizzie McGuire fold for the new Disney+ revival sequel series.
"Gordo was an essential piece of the puzzle to what made the original Lizzie McGuire so authentic and beloved," Hilary Duff, star and executive producer of the series, said in a statement. "I couldn't imagine the series without him. I can't wait for fans to see what he's up to 15 years later and how he fits into Lizzie's adult world."
Lamberg played David "Gordo" Gordon, one of Lizzie's best friends in middle school, in the original series. In addition to Duff and Lamberg, the returning cast members previously announced include Hallie Todd as Jo McGuire, Robert Carradine as Sam McGuire and Jake Thomas as Matt McGuire. Duff is on board as executive producer alongside original series creator Terri Minsky.
The new Lizzie McGuire picks up with the titular character about to turn 30. She's living her best life with a dream job—assistant to a fancy New York City interior designer—has her dream guy and a picturesque apartment in Brooklyn, but things aren't always as they seem on the outside. Yep, it seems Lizzie McGuire's going through a quarter-life crisis. With help from new and old friends, her family and her 13-year-old animated alter-ego, Lizzie is now navigating adulthood the best she can.
After Lizzie McGuire ended in 2004, Lamberg went onto appear in 2005's When Do We Eat? and 2008's Beautiful Loser. The new Lizzie McGuire will be his first on-screen credited role in more than 10 years.
Get more info on the new Lizzie McGuire series below.
Lizzie McGuire is coming soon to Disney+, and that just doesn't mean old episodes or even a new version of the show. It's a true revival, with Hilary Duff reprising her role as Lizzie at the age Lizzie would actually be now, and with original creator Terri Minsky running the show. Per Disney+, "The new story picks up as Lizzie is just about to turn 30. She seemingly has it all—her dream job as an assistant to a fancy New York City decorator, her dream guy and a picturesque Brooklyn apartment—but things aren't always as they seem. With a little help from her friends, her loving family and her 13-year-old alter-ego in animated form, Lizzie navigates the ups and downs of adulthood."
Not only is Lizzie's sometimes helpful, sometimes not so helpful animated avatar a part of the new show, but animated Lizzie hasn't grown up at all. She's still 13, which is weirdly delightful to us to hear.
Production began on October 29, and Disney+ shared this pic of Lizzie and a llama to celebrate. We don't know what's up with the llama, but it might have something to do with Lizzie's job as the assistant to an interior designer. We'd definitely put this llama in our house, at least.
Lizzie's family will all return, including Hallie Todd and Robert Carradine as her parents, and Jake Thomas as her little brother Matt. They're not in the first episode, but Duff told us she'll be filming with original characters for episode two.
It appears that Lizzie is doing extremely well in the love department, as Duff told us, "She has an awesome boyfriend and they've been together for two years, so everything's looking pretty promising for her." "Looking" is the operative word there, since we were told in the description of the show that things aren't always what they seem. Plus...
Duff hasn't officially confirmed the return of any original cast members besides the McGuire fam, but when E! News asked if Lizzie still thought Ethan Craft was hot, this was Duff's response: "Yes, and he is not. He's very hot. Yeah. I'm pretty sure there's going to be...there's going to be a thing." As you can see above in the pic from Clayton Snyder's Instagram, Ethan is still hot. (His caption also included the hashtag #eatcarbs, so Ethan would be proud.)
Adam Lamberg is officially back as Gordo, Lizzie's best friend, and all feels right in this world, at least.
There's no official word on whether Miranda (Lalaine) will return, though Lalaine posted an Instagram story immediately after the revival news broke that was a screenshot of a message from Lamberg. She hasn't actually posted on Instagram since June, but trust us we will be here to tell you as soon as there's any Miranda news.
"There's a confidence that I'm definitely trying to give her, just 'cause she's older and gone through more life than when she was a teenager," Duff told us. Lizzie was prone to freak-outs as a middle schooler and Duff describes her as "neurotic," but you could see the classic Lizzie McGuire Movie as the start of a whole new more confident life for Lizzie. Speaking of which...
E! News asked Duff if the new show will be acknowledging the fact that Lizzie had a moment of international fame during her 8th grade graduation trip to Rome, where she ended up performing at the Coliseum in front of thousands of people. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like this will be part of the new show just yet. "I don't really know. That is funny," Duff said when we asked. "And that's not something that we have talked about. Right. Maybe in the writer's room they have. For like a nano second she was known. There was like a funny laugh about like her like running into Isabella, but I don't know how far they went with that."
Stay tuned for more info about the Lizzie McGuire revival series.