Alex and Justin Russo are officially back on the small screen.
Selena Gomez reunited with her onscreen older brother David Henrie during the series premiere of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. The series — the first two episodes of which premiered on Disney Channel on Tuesday, October 29 — picks up with an older (and powerless) Justin (Henrie) as Alex (Gomez) recruits him to train a young wizard named Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown).
“It was awesome,” Henrie, 35, exclusively told Us Weekly of working again with Gomez, 32. “The word to me is meaningful. It’s an absolutely meaningful experience ’cause I think over the years, Selena and I encountered so many fans all over the world — and their parents, by the way — who said that our show meant so much to them. It was there for them when they needed it. It was there for them in a dark place in their life, in some cases, and really gave them a much-needed dose of humor and heart. So, it really did make a difference in a lot of people’s lives all over the world.”
Wanting to bring back the “spirit” of the original series, Wizards of Waverly Place, was something Henrie told Us was important to him and Gomez both as actors and executive producers.
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“Selena and I both were like, ‘We wanna recapture that same spirit, the same themes, the same values, and represent them to a whole new generation,’” he explained. “But at the same time, give a big warm hug to the original fan and hopefully invite them to say, ‘I want to watch this with a younger person.’”
In the show’s first episode, it is revealed that Justin was fired from his role as headmaster of WizTech and lost his powers. Despite that, he is happily enjoying his life as a mortal with his wife, Giada (Mimi Gianopulos), and sons Roman (Alkaio Thiele) and Milo (Max Matenko). Alex, now a member of the Wizard Tribunal, arrives on her brother’s doorstep looking for his help to teach Billie, who is prophesied to be the only one who can save the Wizard World from a mysterious threat.
The anticipation of his and Gomez’s TV reunion is something Henrie felt the weight of, as it’s been over 10 years since Wizards of Waverly Place ended after a four-season run on Disney Channel. “But the second ‘action’ was said, it was like Selena and I hadn’t missed a day,” Henrie shared. “It was there. The chemistry was there, the magic was there, we felt it. Afterwards, we were like, ‘We still got it. Yeah!’”
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The characters of Billie and Roman, in particular, take on a similar rebel/goody two-shoes dynamic that Alex and Justin had in the original series. According to Brown, 14, she and Thiele, 14, naturally were able to follow in Gomez and Henrie’s footsteps.
“I think it just kind of happened in a way,” Brown told Us. “But I also feel like we’re like that onscreen and offscreen. He’s more, like, I don’t wanna say ‘nerd,’ but he’s definitely more big-brained than me. … As [for] me, I’m more lip gloss and fun.”
She continued: “I guess I kind of did take a little bit of inspiration as well, but I think the biggest inspiration that I kind of took was [to] act like it’s just Janice and Alkaio talking, you know? ‘Cause it’s kind of like our relationship in real life as well.”
The first eight episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place drop on Disney+ Wednesday, October 30. Episodes will air weekly Tuesdays on Disney Channel and stream next day on Disney+.
