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Selena Gomez and David Henrie will return to Disney roots and reunite in Wizards of Waverly Place sequel series

Do you believe in magic? Selena Gomez sure does — which is why the former Disney star is returning to her roots for a stroll down Waverly Place.

Twelve years after the series came to a close, Disney Channel is looking to revive Wizards of Waverly Place. EW has confirmed that a pilot is in the works for a new series which will feature original star David Henrie reprising his role as Justin Russo. Gomez, set to executive produce the series with Henrie, will make a guest appearance as his troublemaking sister, Alex Russo.

While there’s no news on appearances from the rest of the Russo gang, the pilot cast also stars Janice LeAnn Brown (of Disney’s Just Roll with It) as a powerful young wizard named Billie, Alkaio Thiele as Justin’s son Roman Russo, and Rutherford Falls actress Mimi Gianopulos as Justin’s wife, Giada. The pilot is being written and produced by Raven’s Home duo, Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas with Andy Fickman set to direct.

Selena Gomez and David Henrie will return to Disney roots and reunite in Wizards of Waverly Place sequel series Related images #4

Selena Gomez and David Henrie in 'Wizards of Waverly Place'.

Everett Collection

Per the official description, the sequel picks up in the wake of a “mysterious incident at WizTech, where an adult Justin Russo has left his wizard powers behind, opting for a normal, human life with his wife and two sons. But he gets a surprise when a powerful young wizard in need of training shows up at his door… and Justin must embrace his past to ensure the future of the Wizard World."

Gomez celebrated the news with an Instagram Story post, sharing a shot of Alex and Justin with the caption, “We’re back.” In his own post, Henrie captioned a photo of the pilot script, writing, "The Russo’s are excited to become a part of your family, once again, but we’ve grown 😊 2024, the year magic comes back!"

As fans of the original series will recall, the four-season saga ended with an hourlong finale in January 2012 that saw Russo siblings Alex, Justin, and Max (Jake T. Austin) compete in their family wizard competition. Though Alex was victorious and became the family wizard, Justin retained his powers as the new Headmaster of WizTech. As for Max, he was chosen to run the family’s sub sandwich shop under the tutelage of his father, Jerry (David DeLuise). The series also starred Maria Canals-Barrera and Jennifer Stone.

Wizards of Waverly Place is the latest early aughts Disney series to get the sequel treatment. While this deal panned out for the still-ongoing shows Raven’s Home and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, the planned Lizzie McGuire sequel starring Hilary Duff never saw the light of day, despite the first two episodes being filmed. Hopefully, the Russo family can conjure some better luck.

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