Sweet Niblets! A 'Hannah Montana' Prequel Might Be Coming To Rock Your World
Disney fans may be getting the best of both worlds again, because according to Billy Ray Cyrus, a new Hannah Montana series is in the works. But don't expect Miley Cyrus to put her famous blonde wig back and star in the show: Rather than going with the reboot trend that has brought back so many past favorites, Disney may be working on a prequel centered on what happened before Miley Stewart became a pop sensation.
Billy Ray mentioned the prequel in a recent interview with Hollywood Life. "They’re talking about doing a prequel, which to me, I would do that in a heartbeat, because that means I get to get my mullet back," he joked. "I think there’s a whole story that led up to Miley becoming Hannah Montana."
From the sound of the premise, the new series would likely only star Billy Ray, leaving the question of Miley making a return as Hannah still unanswered. Instead of following Miley Stewart's double-life, the prequel series could instead follow Robby Ray's origins as a country-rock artist, which were inspired by Billy Ray's own success in the genre in the early '90s. Or, the series could be about how the Hannah Montana person came to be, featuring a kid actor playing Miley Stewart and Billy Ray still playing Roby Ray. Just spitballing here.
Of course, now is the perfect time for Billy Ray to jump on the opportunity since he just made a huge comeback in the music industry as the featured artist on Lil Nas X's ubiquitous remix for "Old Town Road."
It's been nearly a decade since Hannah Montana aired its series finale at the beginning of 2011. With four seasons, one movie, and four soundtracks full of original music, the beloved Disney Channel series launched Miley Cyrus into international pop superstardom. But for her part, Miley Cyrus has voiced her disinterest in revisiting Hannah Montana various times over the years, including bluntly proclaiming the character dead in her 2013 Saturday Night Live monologue, printing that statement on a shirt in 2014, and repeating it again on the show's tenth anniversary in 2016. But then again, if her dad does go ahead with this rumored prequel series, it seems like there would be a good chance of Miley popping up at least in a cameo once — maybe as Miley Stewart's mom or a younger version of Aunt Dolly?
This prequel sounds like still in very early stages, though, so fans should keep their eyes peeled for any more news in the coming months.
