Yes, please! Wizards of Waverly Place is making its return to Disney, and will be produced by original stars Selena Gomez and David Henrie, who will also be reprising their characters of Alex and Justin Russo, respectively. So, will any other members of the original cast be returning to the sequel? Keep reading to find out.
ICYMI, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter reported on January 18, 2024, that Disney ordered a pilot episode for the sequel to Wizards of Waverly Place.
The reboot will follow David’s character Justin as he lives a normal, non-magical life with his wife Giada (played by Mimi Gianopulos) and his son Roman Russo (Alkaio Thiele). However, Justin is thrust back into the world of magic after a young wizard (Janice LeAnn Brown) goes to Justin for help to save the Wizarding world.
Selena will be appearing in the pilot episode as a guest star, while David will return as a series regular.
Will the OG ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ Cast Return to the Reboot?
After Justin posted the exciting news to his personal account, David Deluise, who played Selena and Justin’s dad in the show, commented “Reboot ?” under the photo. This sparked concern from fans who thought that he wouldn’t be returning to reprise his role.
Justin quickly stepped into the comments to shut down those worries, writing, “We definitely plan on bringing back the original cast for the series order.”
On top of that, David shared photos of himself, Justin, Selena, David and Maria Canals-Barrera, who played Russo matriarch, via Instagram on January 27, 2024. He wrote as the caption: “The Russos ❤️🪄coming back.”
David currently cohosts podcast “Wizards of Waverly Pod,” alongside former costar Jennifer Stone, who played Harper in the Disney Channel show.
Alongside Justin, Selena has shared her excitement for the sequel. Following the news, the singer reposted the Deadline article, saying that she was “so excited.” The Disney alum then continued to show her support by posting a throwback photo of her and Justin captioned, “We’re back.”
Along with David and Jennifer, other original castmembers from Wizards of Waverly Place include Jake T. Austin as Max Russo, Maria as Theresa Russo and Gregg Sulkin as Mason Greyback. The show aired on Disney Channel for four seasons, from 2007 to 2011.
Nearly the entire cast of Wizards have spoken about their hopes for a reboot over the years.
“Justin’s off doing his thing at Wiz Tech, he’s probably got a family, he’s busy with his duties,” David gushed while chatting with Access in August 2020 of where the characters ended up. “Alex is like a fashionista, like the Meryl Streep of the wizard world. She’s doing her thing. Jake [Max] is like a sub shop conglomerate, like he’s the Subway of sub shops.”
He continued, “If you have everyone in their own world, doing their own stuff, and we had forgotten how to be a family, that would be a great place to start the show. And also, Alex, one of the big things is Alex can’t find love, until Mason comes back in the picture.”
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