Though it may be a disappointment to her “Only Murders In the Building” co-stars, Selena Gomez is attached to a new show — well, sort of an old show. The actress is headed back to Waverly Place, revealing the official title of the sequel series to her hit Disney Channel show “Wizards of Waverly Place” on Tuesday.
Appearing at Disney’s Upfronts presentation, Gomez revealed that the sequel series will be titled “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” and premiere on Disney Channel and Disney+ later this year. She also comforted Steve Martin and Martin Short, who joined her on stage to scold her for “leaving” them.
She reunites Gomez and David Henrie as siblings as Alex and Justin Russo. The show will follow an adult Justin Russo, who has chosen to lead a normal, mortal life with his family, Giada, Roman and Milo. When Justin’s sister Alex brings Billie to his home seeking help, Justin realizes he must dust off his magical skills to mentor the wizard-in-training while also juggling his everyday responsibilities — and safeguarding the future of the Wizard World.
“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” is written and executive produced by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, who EP alongside Gary Marsh, as well as Gomez and Henrie. Andy Fickman directed and executive-produced the pilot and will direct multiple episodes.Andy Fickman directed and executive produced the pilot, which was ordered in mid January, and is set to direct multiple episodes. Production on the series began in April in Los Angeles.
Gomez will also guest star in the premiere episode, while Henrie stars in a leading series regular role. Janice LeAnn Brown (“Just Roll with It”) will play Billie, while lkaio Thiele (“Call Me Kat”) and Mimi Gianopulos (“American Princess”) will play Justin’s oldest son Roman and wife Giada, respectively.
The original “Wizards of Waverly Place,” which ran from 2007-2012, followed the Russo family, where three siblings navigated the challenges of adolescence while mastering their magical abilities.
In addition to Gomez and Henrie, the original cast included Jake T. Austin as Max Russo, David DeLuise as Jerry Russo, Maria Canals-Barrera as Theresa Russo and Jennifer Stone as Harper Finkle.
The series launched the career of Gomez, who went on to become a multi-platinum, Grammy Award-nominated recording artist and highly sought after actress. She continues to executive produce and star in the critically acclaimed Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building.” She is also set to portray Linda Ronstadt in a biopic directed by David O. Russell.
