Disney is bringing back one of its most beloved shows: Wizards of Waverly Place, which shot Selena Gomez to stardom and offered a comedic take on magic, hijinks, and family fun. According to Deadline, Gomez and her co-star David Henrie will executive produce the new series — and Gomez is already set to appear in the show’s pilot. Henrie will be a series regular and play an adult version of his character, Justin Russo.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that the series follows Justin after he “abandoned his wizarding powers for an everyday, magic-free life with his family.” A young wizard “finds him and asks him for help in both training and ensuring the future of the wizard world.” Gomez will return to her role as Alex Russo. There’s no word yet on whether or not the show’s other cast members will be coming to the show. The sitcom also starred David DeLuise, Maria Canals-Barrera, Jennifer Stone, and Jake T. Austin.
The new version of WOWP will air on Disney Channel if the network orders it to series.
The original Wizards of Waverly Place aired on Disney Channel from 2007 to 2012. The series played alongside some of the network’s biggest hits, including Hannah Montana, Lizzie McGuire, and That’s So Raven. Those shows have also made headlines lately, with That’s So Raven getting a reboot, Raven’s Home, and Lizzie McGuire also set to have a revival until plans were scrapped in 2020.
During an episode of Wizards of Waverly Pod, a re-watch podcast hosted by Stone and DeLuise, showrunner Peter Murrieta explained that Alex was bisexual and that the show never had an opportunity to explore that.
“I wished we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us was the relationship between Stevie and Alex,” he said of wanting to show Alex’s relationship with a character played by Hayley Kiyoko. “We weren’t able to in that time, but it was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was. That would have been fun.”
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