On January 18th, 2024 Selena Gomez and her former co-star David Henrie took to social media to help reveal a magical secret. Gomez, known for her prominent role in Disney Channel’s ‘Wizards of Waverly Place,’ took to Instagram stories with a picture of her and Henrie years ago on set. The Rare Beauty owner captioned the story saying, “We’re Back.” As the post gained popularity, fans began to question what it meant. Was there truly going to be a comeback for one of Disney’s most popular shows? The rumors proved to be true when Disney confirmed an article published by Deadline regarding the new series and took to their own Instagram stories to excite fans, posting a picture of the new series’ pilot script which, according to the image, has been entitled ‘Wizards.’
The original series, which ran from 2007 to 2012, depicted a family of wizards who owned a sandwich shop in New York City and were trying to navigate the balance of two worlds. Alex Russo, played by Gomez, along with her two brothers Justin, played by Henrie, and Max Russo, played by Jake T. Austin, are teenagers trying to learn how to master their powers or they run the risk of losing them forever. Their father Jerry Russo, played by David DeLuise, is the patriarch of the family while his wife Theresa Russo, played by Maria Canals-Barrera, is a mortal. The plot along with its incredibly heartwarming characters led to an impressive TV run and two movie spin-off movies. Now, over ten years later, the sequel is set to follow the life of Henrie’s character, Justin Russo, as he is now a husband and father of two sons himself, and has given up his powers for a normal family life. However, after an incident at ‘WizTech,’ a young wizard in search of help comes knocking on Justin’s door, leading him to find it in his heart to embrace his past to save the future of the ‘Wizard World.’
While an official date for the release of the pilot has not been set, some of the returning fan favorites as well as new faces coming to the screen with the reboot have been announced. Henrie will be returning full-time to reprise his role as Justin Russo, whereas Selena Gomez is only currently set to reprise her sassy role of Alex Russo as a guest star in the pilot. Other fan favorites include David DeLuise, Maria Canals-Barrera, Jake T. Austin, and Jennifer Stone who played Harper Finkle, Alex’s mortal best friend. While the capacity of some of the fan-favorite characters’ returns has not yet been announced, the roles of the new full-time characters have been announced as well. Janice LeAnn Brown and Alkaio Teele will be playing Justin Russo’s sons Billie and Roman. Meanwhile, Henrie’s on-screen wife, Giada Russo, will be portrayed by Mimi Gianopulos. Additional characters, storylines, and filming details have yet to be announced as it appears that the show has just entered production.
The show’s revival is not just piquing the interest of current Disney fans, but teenagers and adults who watched Wizards of Waverly Place when it was originally on air. The sense of nostalgia triggered by this reboot allows Disney to reach a broader audience than they normally do with their content, which poses a lucrative business opportunity for the network. According to Khush Mehta, a senior from Monroe, “I think it is a worthwhile reboot because it will take people back with a sense of nostalgia, and I look forward to watching it with my friends.” With a past demographic being brought back into the world of Disney, not only is this reboot a great throwback into an era we all enjoyed, but a smart move by Disney executives. Many people from ages 17 to 25 have expressed that the best era of Disney Channel was from 2006 to 2015. Thus, as many have decided that Disney Channel TV is not of the quality it used to be, it is quite interesting that Disney has decided to reboot an iconic show from its ‘best’ era. Did a dip in ratings prompt the show? Or a need for investors? We will never know, however, let’s focus on what we do. The magical Russo family will be back on our TV screens as the beloved show begins filming for its magical homecoming.