Hannah Montana returned to Hollywood on Monday night.
Miley Cyrus celebrated the successful “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special” with a red carpet premiere at the El Capitan Theater. Before the screening, the former Disney Channel star admitted in an interview with Variety that he planted the seeds for what would become a “Hannah Montana” revival.
“You started it all,” Silas told me shortly after arriving. “You started the drama. Last time I saw you, you were talking about bangs and blonde hair, and then this happened.”
In an interview on the red carpet at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January, Cyrus said she was “working hard” on the Hannah Montana anniversary project, but declined to fully confirm that a special was in the works. She just smiled and said, “You can see my bangs.”
While she’s happy to honor her iconic pop star persona on the 20th anniversary, Cyrus said she has no energy to consider bringing “Hannah Montana” back on the air.
When asked about the Hannah Montana reboot, Cyrus said, “Girl, I’m tired.” “There’s already a lot of this.”
Cyrus’ mother and special co-executive producer Tish Cyrus Purcell and sister Brandi Cyrus also walked the carpet. Original cast members Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Cody Linley, Jason Earles, Mateo Arias, Mitchel Musso, Moises Arias and Shanika Knowles were also in attendance.
“Hannah Montana” first aired on Disney Channel in March 2006 and ran for four seasons until ending in 2011. Cyrus starred as Miley Stewart, a teenager who lives a double life as famous pop star Hannah Montana. Cyrus’ father, Billy Ray Cyrus, played the father.
The anniversary special, which will premiere on March 24 on Disney+ and Hulu, features Cyrus singing some of the series’ most popular songs, an interview with Cyrus from “Call Me Daddy” host Alex Cooper, and a surprise appearance from Selena Gomez, who guest-starred in Season 2 as Hannah’s pop star rival Mikayla Skeech.
Earlier this year, Cyrus began teasing that a special was in the works. However, she admitted in a recent Variety cover interview that she wasn’t exactly telling the truth. “I learned this horrible habit from Dolly[Parton]and I think it was actually good advice,” she told writer Ethan Schanfeld. “She told me that if you want something to happen, promote it before it exists, so no one can say no. So I started promoting the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special, which literally didn’t exist.”
