Why The Wizards Of Waverly Place Cast Is Shading The Reboot After Its Finale

The rebooted Wizards Beyond Waverly Place was supposed to be a magical dream for fans of the original Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place — but its final episode has instead caused a ton of drama. Not only were viewers shocked by a surprisingly dark twist involving Alex Russo’s love life, but several members of the Wizards of Waverly Place cast and crew have come forward to express their disappointment in how the Disney+ sequel series was handled. The common thread appears to be that original cast members were gatekept from appearing in the new show.

Although there had been a steady undercurrent of drama surrounding Wizards Beyond Waverly Place when it debuted in 2024, the floodgates broke loose after the show’s finale aired on Aug. 4. In the climactic episode, Selena Gomez’s Alex makes a couple unexpected revelations: her ex-boyfriend Mason died years ago, and the timeline implies that she got pregnant with her daughter Billie when she was 19 years old. The bleak plot twist struck longtime fans as being discordant with the upbeat sitcom’s vibe, and even the original Wizards of Waverly Place creator took issue with the tone.

“I will undo the entire Beyond canon in one simple chapter. By simply ignoring it,” Wizards creator Todd F. Greenwald wrote on Substack after the finale aired. “‘It was all Max’s dreammmmm.’ Fixed. Moving on.”

Greenwald, who seemingly had no involvement in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place aside from his “created by” credit, isn’t the only Wizards of Waverly Place fixture to feel snubbed by the reboot. After the finale, Jake T. Austin clarified that he was “disappointed” his wishes to reprise his role as Max Russo in the sequel show were not honored.

“Just wanted to say for the record how disappointed I am to have not been included in the spinoff,” Austin wrote in an Aug. 6 Instagram story. “I was asked back in 2020 if I was interested in reprising my role and said that I was 100% in. Unfortunately, the powers that be decided to take the show in a different direction and my character wasn’t part of the equation.”

Max’s absence was the most glaring main character omission in the Disney+ sequel, but the series also didn’t bring back Dan Benson, who played Justin Russo’s bestie Zeke. Benson has been vocally critical of Justin actor David Henrie’s apparent creative control over the reboot since it began, alleging he wasn’t asked back due to his OnlyFans content. After the finale, he mourned what a full reboot could have been.

“It’s just heartbreaking because there was so much potential for a Wizards reboot and it turned into the failed David Henrie show,” Benson wrote on X. “People say I’m just bitter I didn’t get invited back but I’m actually just sad for the fans.”

Jennifer Stone, who only appeared in a couple of Beyond’s final episodes as Alex’s bestie Harper, appeared to confirm Henrie was limiting cameos from OG Wizards of Waverly Place stars when speaking about her brief return as Harper to Us Weekly after the finale.

“To be honest, I had mourned the fact that I was not going to be part of the reboot, just because I talked to David Henrie,” Stone said in the Aug. 4 interview. “He was like, ‘It doesn’t really make sense for you to come in.’ And I was like, ‘Come on, you can make it make sense,’ but it didn’t work out that way.”

David DeLuise, who only reprised his role as patriarch Jerry Russo in two Season 1 episodes of Beyond, also bemoaned the reboot’s casting choices shortly after the finale. “It would not be over if the OG wizards were really there,” DeLuise wrote in an Instagram comment about the ending. “Missed opportunity.”

Wizards of Waverly Place ran for four seasons from 2007 to 2012. Its sequel Wizards Beyond Waverly Place just concluded its third and final season.

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