Selena Gomez’s Dual Roles in ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’
Fans of the original series Wizards of Waverly Place were excited for the spin-off because the Russo family is back! However, hold on to your pointy hats and broomsticks because even if Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is officially a sequel, only one of the Russo siblings is in it for the whole ride.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Reunites the Russo Family (and more!)
The idea to have a Wizards of Waverly Place sequel came from the countless wine nights that David Henrie and Selena Gomez shared talking about the hijinks their characters might find themselves in as adults.
In an interview with Variety during the premiere, Gomez said, “We kept talking about it!” Henrie agreed, “It was so organic. We never felt any pressure. The original fans should know there was never a mandate to be like, ‘We have to make this show, now’s the time to make the show.’ It just came to a point where we were like, ‘Maybe we’ve got something here.’”
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place centers on Henrie’s character, Justin Russo’s adult and (almost) normal life as a middle school principal. He’s trying to live life as a “muggle” (see what we did there?) husband and father, that is until his younger sister, Alex, played by Gomez brought him a powerful young wizard in need of a mentor.
Aside from Gomez, Jake T. Austin, who played Max Russo, Justin and Alex’s brother is also set to guest star, same as their parents, Maria Canals-Barrera as Theresa Russo and Davide DeLuise as Jerry Russo.
Completing the main cast are Janice LeAnn Brown as Billie, the powerful young wizard Alex introduced to her brother, Alkaio Thiele and Max Matenko as Roman and Milo Russo, Justin’s sons, Mimi Gianopulos as Giada Russo, Justin’s wife, and Taylor Cora as Winter, Billie and the Russo brothers’ best friend.
Executive Producers’ Duties
Aside from appearing as the characters they played years ago, Henrie is also an executive producer of the sequel. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Henrie said, “We’ve both been doing this for a long time, and I think we seek to bring our best experiences forward when we’re working with young people — especially kids — so for me, it’s very much on the forefront of my mind to help enable an atmosphere that makes them the best they can be in that moment. And it’s been wonderful, we cast some really talented kids, and they’ve just gotten better and better and better.”
Gomez’s Guest Star Status
After it premiered, a lot of fans have been asking why Gomez was not in a leading role. Per Yahoo! Entertainment, Henrie mentioned that there were “debates around absolutely everything.” Nevertheless, it will be easy for her to guest star in future episodes since she’s an executive producer as well together with Henrie.
