Mitchel Musso Reveals Why He Declined 'Hannah Montana' 20th Anniversary Special

Mitchel Musso is opening up about why he sat out the Hannah Montana anniversary celebration.

When Disney+ and Hulu rolled out the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special in March, it marked two decades since the beloved Disney Channel series first premiered. Miley Cyrus participated in the special, but Musso, who portrayed Oliver Oken throughout the show's run, was notably absent.

During a recent appearance on The Joe Vulpis Podcast, Musso disclosed that he had turned down the opportunity and shared his reservations about how the reunion was structured.

"Of course they asked me [to be in it]," Musso explained. "But, it wasn't presented correctly [to me]."

The actor elaborated on his reasoning, noting that after spending a decade largely away from the Hollywood scene, he was eager to revisit the role of Oliver. However, the execution didn't meet his expectations.

"I've been waiting ten years," he emphasized. "The people, they say, 20. My break's been 10. It's too long of a wait to do it in a way that isn't even close to, in my opinion, correct."

Rather than staging a traditional reunion episode, Disney+ took a different approach with the special. The program featured Miley in an interview with Call Her Daddy's Alex Cooper, along with celebrity cameos from Selena Gomez and Chappell Roan, presented as a retrospective of the series.

Musso expressed his letdown with the format, saying the younger version of himself had hoped for an on-set reunion with the original cast. "The kid in me was banking on it, like 'I can't wait for us to all be on set again.' And it just didn't work out that way," he shared.

He acknowledged that while he was occupied with other commitments at the time, a full episode or movie-length project would have taken priority. "They just did it differently, and it is what it is," Musso reflected. "It wasn't the right thing. And I was busy doing something that was more important. But it would have been way more important if it would have just been an episode, or a movie. Of course that would have been more important. That would have been everything. I would have dropped everything — eat, breathe, sleep it."

Musso doubled down on his preference, suggesting the network revisit the idea as a proper installment of the series. "Do an episode," he urged. "Do the show. The set's still there."

The actor made clear that he remains interested in returning to the role of Oliver, but only in the context of an actual Hannah Montana episode. "I'd want to feel the part again. I'd want to put on that little polo again, and wear the … plaid shorts with the goofy shoes," he said, adding with humor that he wouldn't mind sporting a wig to get back into character, having worn them numerous times during his Disney tenure.

Musso wasn't the only cast member who opted out of the special. Emily Osment, who played Miley's best friend Lilly Truscott on the series, also shared her reasons for not participating in the anniversary event.