Here’s How Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Writes Out the Original Cast
Everything is not what it seems — even when it comes to what the original “Wizards of Waverly Place” characters are up to in the sequel series. Some of those updates are fairly surprising.
“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” which premiered on Disney Channel on Tuesday night and will be streaming its first nine episodes on Disney+ come Wednesday, centers on a now-adult Justin Russo (David Henrie), who’s living a non-magical life — well, sort of, more on that momentarily — with his wife and kids.
When Alex (Selena Gomez) shows up with a new young wizard who needs help, Justin has a choice to make in order to help safeguard the entire wizarding world.
Yes, we see Justin and his sister reunited in the premiere episode, and their futures might just be exactly what you predicted — or not.
According to star David Henrie, “it was really easy” for him and Selena Gomez to decide where everyone ended up, because they’ve been casually discussing it for years. What was most important to them was making sure that the stories for everyone — particularly for the show’s guest stars — actually held weight and depth.
“I don’t want it to just be an obligatory like, “Hey, here’s so-and-so,” and they pop right out,” Henrie told TheWrap. “I want them to contribute. I want it to be meaningful, so that way the original fans will feel like we we really took their their love for these characters seriously, because we do take it seriously.”
So, here’s what the original characters are up to.
Justin Russo (David Henrie)
Justin was made the youngest headmaster of Wiz Tech but unfortunately, he was fired for something mysteriously referred to as the “unicorn incident.” After his firing, he retired from teaching young wizards, and lives life with his wife and two sons, without magic.
But, when Alex brings Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown) to his home begging him to tutor her, Justin is begrudgingly eager to dive back into the world of magic. We say begrudging because, apparently, the fate of the wizard community in his Billie’s hands/future.
No pressure.
Alex Russo (Selena Gomez)
After becoming the family wizard, Alex Russo went on to become part of the Wizard tribunal, to the shock of her older brother.
If you’re blanking on what exactly the wizard tribunal is, don’t worry, you’re not alone. The tribunal is responsible in dealing with crimes against Wizard Law; basically, they’re wizard law enforcement. So yes, there’s quite a bit of irony in Alex growing up to enforce rules.
Max Russo (Jake T. Austin)
We don’t actually see Max in the first episode of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” but we do get an update on where the youngest sibling is at in life. Apparently, he’s very rich. Max owns his family’s sandwich chain now, and is a savvy businessman.
“I love the idea of flipping Max on his on his head, of what you expect,” Henrie told TheWrap. “He’s now like a billionaire, multi-billionaire, that lives on a yacht, and he’s franchised out the sub shop. It’s been fun.”
Jerry and Theresa Russo (David DeLuise and Maria Canals-Barrera)
The Russo parents also don’t appear in the first two episodes of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” so we don’t officially know what they’re up to since letting Max take over the restaurant chain. But odds are, we will find out. David DeLuise is set to guest star in a later episode.
Of course, “Wizards of Waverly Place” had more beloved characters in it than just the Russo family. We’ll keep you posted on where every else ends up, if/when they’re mentioned.
The first nine episodes of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” hits Disney+ on October 30.
