Selena Gomez and David Henrie have officially passed the torch — ahem, wand — to a brand-new generation of wizards.
Gomez, 32, and Henrie, 35, are set to reprise their Wizards of Waverly Place roles on the upcoming Disney Channel and Disney+ revival, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. The series picks up with an adult— and powerless — Justin Russo (Henrie) as his sister, Alex Russo (Gomez), enlists his help to help train a powerful young wizard, Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown).
Not only is Gomez playing a mentor figure to her character, but Brown exclusively told Us Weekly that she learned “a lot” from the star behind the scenes. “I think the biggest thing was not to let anyone block my sunlight and to just stay true to myself,” she shared. “And it doesn’t really matter what other people are saying about me because, at the end of the day, all that matters is what I’m saying to myself when I look inside the mirror and making sure that I’m saying positive things about myself, rather than negative.”
Mimi Gianopulos, who plays Justin’s wife, Giada, admitted that she was “nervous” to work alongside Gomez, but her attitude quickly changed. “She was the most relatable, wonderful, kind, lovely [person],” she told Us, noting that it was “so sweet” to see Gomez and Henrie working together 12 years after the original series concluded.
“I’m coming into this as a new person and I felt so welcomed and so, just truly brought into the family,” Gianopulos, 35, gushed. “They really set a tone of kindness and of joy on set. It’s such a blast.”
Alkaio Thiele, who plays Justin and Giada’s eldest son, Roman, told Us Gomez was a “valuable resource” on set, stating, “She’s gone through this, she knows what it’s like, and she and David are both working to make this the best experience possible because they did this before.”
He added: “They had their ups and downs, they had things that worked and things that didn’t work, and they want all of those great things in our show and all of those not-as-great things, they want to keep us away from that. And I think that’s really sweet that they did that together, that they worked together to make it the best possible place for us to work.”
Max Matenko, who portrays Justin and Giada’s youngest child, Milo, agreed with his onscreen brother’s comments, calling Gomez a “great mentor.” He told Us: “She’s like, ‘If you have any problems, you can just call me.’ … She is so humble and she kind of teaches me how I should be if I ever get to, like, being a famous actor, hopefully. And I just think she’s the best.”
Creating a safe environment for the show’s younger stars is something Taylor Cora, who plays Billie and Roman’s friend, said was of the utmost importance to the show’s crew, particularly Henrie, who serves as an executive producer alongside Gomez.
“Towards the beginning of production, all of the cast sat down and the showrunners, Jed [Elinoff] and Scott [Thomas], and I remember we just had a chat about, you know, ‘We need to work harder so we can make a show.’ And I remember David, he was speaking up about his own experiences, you know, from the original show,” Cora shared. “And I remember him saying that he was afraid to ask for help because he didn’t wanna seem like he didn’t know what he was doing. But from him, I’ve learned that it’s OK to not know what you’re doing, as long as you ask for help so that you can eventually figure it out.”
Taylor Cora, Alkaio Thiele and Janice Leann Brown in ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’
Through the new series, Henrie told Us he hopes to not only recapture the magic of the original show but also give “a big warm hug” to longtime fans. “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,” he explained. “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.”
The first two episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place premiere on Disney Channel Tuesday, October 29, at 8 p.m. ET. The first eight episodes will be available to stream on Disney+ the next day, Wednesday, October 30.
