Selena Gomez takes a turn in time with her latest television venture. On Thursday (January 18), it was officially announced that the 31-year-old singer-actress will return to her iconic role as Alex Russo in the pilot episode of a Wizards of Waverly Place reboot, a nostalgic project that he will also produce alongside former actor David Henrie.
As originally reported by Deadlinethe revival will pick up after “a mysterious incident at WizTech,” the magical school attended by Gomez and Henry's characters — Russo brothers Alex and Justin, respectively — in the original Wizards of Waverly Place series, which aired on the Disney Channel from 2007 to 2012. Similar to Alex and Justin's father Jerry, played by David DeLuise in the original, Justin left his wizard powers behind for a normal, human life. life with his wife and two sons.
But when a powerful young wizard named Billie shows up at his door in need of training to “secure the future” of the Wizarding World, Justin must return to the life he left behind. The Disney-commissioned series pilot is being written by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas (Raven's house).
Gomez has so far only been confirmed to appear in the pilot of the reboot, while Henrie will be a series regular. The rest of the main cast is also set: Janice LeAnn Brown will play Billie, and Justin's wife and oldest son, Roman, will be played by Mimi Gianopulos and Alkaio Thiele, respectively.
“So excited!!” Gomez talked about the show's revival in the first of two Instagram Stories. In the second, she shared a photo with Henrie and captioned it, “WE'RE BACK.”
Henrie also excitedly shared the news. “The Russians are excited to be separated from your family once again, but we've grown up 😊 2024, the year magic returns!” he wrote on Twitter.
Former head of Disney Branded Television Gary Marsh and director Andy Fickman will executive produce alongside Gomez and Henrie. Wizards is just the latest kids' show from the 2000s to get the reboot treatment, following in the footsteps of Nickelodeon's iCarly, Zoey 101 and the now-scrap Lizzy McGuire modernize.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/selena-gomez-wizards-of-waverly-place-revival-producer-appearance-1235584420/
