Miley Cyrus Refused To Do Another Hannah Montana Movie (And Met Her Future Husband In The Process)

Miley Cyrus decided she was done with Hannah Montana before her Disney contract was up, so she got creative.

Long before Miley Cyrus became a Grammy-nominated artist, she was a child star who steadily rose to fame after becoming one of Disney’s most recognizable young talents. Since the actress/singer made her debut as the Mickey Mouse network’s Hannah Montana, she looked to be every bit unstoppable.

While at Disney, Cyrus also found love in ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. Interestingly, however, the two stars never would have met had Cyrus not found a way to get out of another Hannah Montana movie.

Miley Cyrus Had A Contractual Obligation To Disney

Cyrus first got on Disney’s radar when the network was looking for its Hannah Montana. And while some may imagine that the star was a natural shoo-in for the part, that wasn’t the case at all.

During an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Gary Marsh, the former president of entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, admitted to having some reservations about casting Cyrus.

Back then, she was young and unproven and that was the issue, Marsh explained. Just the same, they let her audition a couple more times, and in the end, it came down to Cyrus and a 16-year-old sitcom star (her idenтιтy was never disclosed, although singer Jojo once revealed that she pᴀssed on the role). With the vote among execs evenly split between the two women, Marsh decided to go with Cyrus.

After Hannah Montana premiered on Disney Channel, Cyrus immediately became famous. Aside from the show, she would also star in various music videos as her Disney character.

Cyrus also ended up making cameos as Hannah in Disney shows such as The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck. She also had minor roles in High School Musical 2 and animated Disney series such as The Replacements and The Emperor’s New School.

Later on, Cyrus also joined the cast of Disney’s animated film Bolt, which also includes John Travolta. Around the same time, she also headlined Hannah Montana: The Movie. The film went on to gross a reported $155.5 million, against an estimated production budget of $30 million.

Miley Flat Out Refused Another Hannah Montana Movie

With the first Hannah Montana film being such a huge hit and Cyrus becoming one of Disney’s most successful stars, it made sense for the network to plan for a sequel. After all, Marsh also once said, “Here at Disney, television is just the launch pad…” By then, it also seemed like Cyrus was ready for bigger things with them.

By then, however, Cyrus was already keen on ending this chapter in her career as she worked on the fourth and final season of her show. During an interview with Collider, the actress also confirmed that she had no intention of doing a Hannah Montana: The Movie sequel.

She also hinted that she wanted to “give myself new challenges and not just be the same person, over and over.” More recently, Cyrus also confirmed as much while speaking on her Used To Be Young series for TikTok.

‘The Last Song’ Led Miley To Liam Hemsworth

Luckily for Cyrus, a new challenge quickly presented itself in the form of the romantic drama The Last Song. Nicholas Sparks, who is known for The Notebook, wrote the story specifically for Cyrus. And unlike his previous works, he set out to write the screenplay first before eventually turning it into another one of his hit novels.

Sparks also let Cyrus choose her character’s name. Other than that, the actress “let him do his thing.” Cyrus also told AP. “I wouldn’t want someone to do that to me when I’m songwriting.” That said, the star had some involvement in casting her love interest.

By then, Hemsworth had already done some acting work in Australia and the film would be a good way for him to break into Hollywood. Upon meeting him, Cyrus recalled that she was already sold on casting him even before he read for the part.

Looking back on the movie, the actress/singer also noted that her onscreen chemistry with Hemsworth was genuine because the two stars were truly falling in love with each other behind the scenes.

Hemsworth and Cyrus would continue to have an on-and-off relationship following the release of their movie. After also calling off their engagement a few times, the couple would later tie the knot in a low-key ceremony just days before Christmas in 2018.

Sadly, Hemsworth and Cyrus ended up splitting just a few months later with Hemsworth filing for divorce from his wife on August 21, 2019. Their divorce was finalized in February 2020. While the exes have seemingly gone their separate ways, fans can’t help but think that Cyrus continues to talk about her ex-husband in new tracks like Flowers and Muddy Feet.

Meanwhile, since The Last Song, Cyrus hasn’t had much time to pursue acting projects, only starring in Black Mirror, Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas, and the Netflix animated series Human Resources in recent years.

That said, the singer has hinted at rebooting Hannah Montana in the past.