Selena Gomez is set to return to Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place, 11 years after the series last aired.
According to Deadline, a pilot has been ordered for the reboot, which will star the Teen Choice Award winner alongside her brother David Henrie as Alex and Justin Russo, respectively.
Wizards of Waverly Place aired for four seasons and 106 episodes from 2007 to 2012, with a one-off special in 2013 and even a movie special in 2009.
The return is set to begin after a mysterious incident at WizTech in which the adult Justin Russo left his magical powers behind and opted for a normal, human life with his wife and two sons.
So where are the original stars now?
Selena Gomez (right) and David Henrie (left) return for a revival of Wizards of Waverly Place. Pictured (from left): Henrie, Jake T. Austin (front), David Deluise, Maria Canals-Barrera and Gomez – the Russo family of the series
Gomez left her innocent image behind after the show ended in 2012 and is now a hugely successful actress, singer and producer
Selena Gomez as Alex Russo
There's no doubt that Selena Gomez has had the most success of any member of the Russo family since Wizards of Waverly Place closed.
She has achieved great success as a singer, actress and producer.
Before her magical performance as Alex Russo at age 15, Gomez had been in the entertainment industry for much of her life, but her 2007 starring role made her even more famous.
Gomez began working in entertainment at age 10, appearing on the PBS children's show Barney & Friends from 2002 to 2004 before making guest appearances on Disney Channel programs such as “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” and “Hannah Montana.” ” had.
Immediately after “Wizards of Waverly Place,” Gomez pivoted away from children's television, playing film roles in “Monte Carlo” (2011), “Spring Breakers” (2012) and “Hotel Transylvania” (2012).
And while on the Disney show, Gomez also pursued music with her group Selena Gomez & the Scene, but after the show ended, she took the plunge and went solo.
Her debut album Stars Dance, including the hit single “Come & Get It”, reached number one in 2013 – a feat she repeated with second album Revival (2015), which saw the singer leave her family-friendly image behind.
Revival included the singles “Good For You” and “Same Old Love”, both of which peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Hands To Myself”, which peaked at number seven.
The same year the album was released, Gomez announced that she had undergone chemotherapy to treat the autoimmune disease lupus, which had forced her to cancel portions of her Stars Dance Tour the previous two years.
Her 2015 tour was also canceled because the singer suffered from anxiety, panic attacks and depression.
This culminated in the star announcing that she would be taking some time off in 2016.
This break allowed Gomez to step behind the camera, and she most notably worked on the hit Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” as an executive producer.
Gomez returned to the spotlight in 2020 with a third solo album, Rare, which debuted at the top of the charts.
That same year, she created and hosted the Max cooking show Selena + Chef, which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination as a producer.
But in 2020, Gomez continued to talk about her stress and anxiety, revealing her diagnosis of bipolar disorder on Miley Cyrus' Instagram Live talk show Bright Minded.
Her 2022 AppleTV+ documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me delved even deeper into the star's struggles with her mental and physical health.
However, this hasn't stopped Gomez's acting career from making impressive strides and was nominated for Best Actress in a TV Comedy at the 2022 and 2023 Golden Globes for her starring role in the Hulu comedy Only Murders In The Building.
Despite her fame, she remained close with her Wizards of Waverly Place co-stars, especially Henrie.
She told Jennifer Stone and David DeLuise on the Wizards Of Waverly Podcast in February 2023 that her time on the show was the “happiest time of my entire life.”
David Henrie as Justin Russo
Henrie returns to his role as Justin Russo in the reboot. Before the original “Wizards,” he had already starred in “How I Met Your Mother.” Seen on the left in 2019 and on the right in 2007 (as Justin)
The Russo's eldest son, Justin Russo, was played by David Henrie, now 34.
In the final episode of Wizards of Waverly Place in 2012, Justin took charge of the prestigious WizTech Academy – where the reboot begins.
Before Wizards, Henrie was a familiar face to many. He played Ted Mosby's future son Luke on the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which appeared in 65 episodes from 2005 to 2014.
The actor didn't appear in the 2013 special and, after moving on from Waverly Place, turned to independent films like the 2015 Catholic drama Little Boy.
Five years later, Henrie co-wrote and directed his own teen comedy, This Is The Year.
The film was executive produced by his friend Gomez and featured her Wizards co-star Gregg Sulkin (who played Alex's werewolf friend Mason).
Henrie's next appearance is expected to be as the young Ronald Reagan in the upcoming presidential biopic.
The star married former Miss Delaware Maria Cahill in 2017, with whom he has three children.
Jake T. Austin as Max Russo
Jake T. Austin played the youngest of the Russos – Max – and was only 12 years old when the show debuted. Pictured in 2020 (left) and on the show in 2011 (right)
Jake T. Austin took on the role of the youngest Russo child – Max – from the age of 12.
His entertainment career began a few years earlier when he portrayed Diego in three episodes of Dora the Explorer and later directed the spin-off Go, Diego, Go (2005–2011).
In addition to this dubbing work and “Wizards,” Austin also appeared as a young actress in “Hotel for Dogs” (2009) alongside Emma Roberts.
While still on the hit Disney Channel series, he portrayed Fernando in Rio (2011) and reprized the role in the 2014 sequel.
Austin moved from one TV family to another after the end of “Wizards of Waverly Place,” joining ABC's “The Fosters” as Jesus Foster for two seasons in 2013 before being replaced.
His most notable work since then has been a return to dubbing, including in the much-derided Emoji Movie (2017).
Austin has also voiced Blue Beetle in a number of DC animated series, including Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016) and Justice League Action (2017).
The actor's most recent role was in the 2020 independent crime thriller Adverse.
Maria Canals-Barrera as Theresa Russo
Maria Canals-Barrera (center) played Theresa – the only human in the wizarding family – and had a successful television career. Pictured with Gomez (left) and Stone (right)
Theresa Russo – the only person in the family – was played by Maria Canals-Barrera, 57.
Between seasons of Wizards of Waverly Place, Canals-Barrera starred in the Disney Channel TV movie Camp Rock (2008) as the mother of Demi Lovato – another future pop star.
However, her acting career began long before the Disney exploits. She made her first appearance in 1990 in an episode of the crime series “21 Jump Street” – not to be confused with the completely different 2012 film of the same name.
After graduating from Wizards, Canals-Barrera landed a supporting role on the groundbreaking ABC sitcom Cristela alongside title star Cristela Alonzo.
“Cristela” was the first primetime comedy created, written, produced and starred by a Latina woman, and Canals-Barrera played Alonzo’s sister Daniela in the 22-episode series.
Many of her roles since then have included voice acting in DC superhero shows and films – including Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, three Batman: The Dark Knight Returns films and Vixen: The Movie.
In 2017, she reunited with Wizards co-star Austin in the DC animated film Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.
Canals-Barrera also makes regular guest appearances on numerous TV shows, including “The Big Bang Theory,” “Last Man Standing” and “Fuller House.”
She married fellow actor David Barrera, who guest-starred as Carlos Cucuy in a 2012 Wizards episode, in 1999, and the couple have two daughters together.
David DeLuise as Jerry Russo
Father Jerry Russo (David DeLuise) gave up his magical powers to pass them on to his children
He now has a podcast with Stone where the two discuss the behind-the-scenes secrets of the show
David DeLuise played magical father Jerry, whose powers were inherited by the Russo children.
The 52-year-old made his acting debut as an eight-year-old in Hot Stuff and was already established when he starred in Wizards of Waverly Place.
He is best known for his role as Bug Pollone in the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock From The Sun (1996–2001).
Not only did DeLuise star in every Wizards episode, he also directed six of them – a role he's only taken on a handful of times since then, given his much busier acting schedule.
He appeared in the 2016 film Pup Star and two years later had a supporting role in Unbroken: Path to Redemption – which tells the story of Olympian and World War II hero Louis Zamperini.
DeLuise continued to appear in various television roles, including episodes of Baby Daddy, Hawaii Five-0 and This Is Us.
In 2019, he married German actress Julia Stoepel and has two children from his previous marriage to Brigitte DeLuise, which ended in 2003.
Jennifer Stone as Harper Finkle
After Stone was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2013, she began studying nursing and her acting career slowed. Pictured in 2018 (left) and as Harper Finkle on the show (right)
Although Alex's best friend Harper Finkle (Jennifer Stone) wasn't a wizard herself, she was the only non-Russian to appear in every episode of Wizards of Waverly Place, as well as the 2013 film and special.
This period from 2007 to 2013 made up a large part of Stone's acting career, although the 30-year-old's most recent appearances are as recently as 2019.
During her wizarding days, Stone appeared in the Disney Channel television film Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars (2009) and the ABC series Family's Mean Girls 2 (2011).
She also worked as a voice actress for Disney's Phineas and Ferb and Generator Rex on Cartoon Network.
After The Wizards, Stone fell into horror and played the babysitter in Nickelodeon's anthology series Deadtime Stories (2012-2013), in which she read scary stories to frightened children.
She also starred in Nothing Left to Fear in 2013 before starring in High School Possession in 2014.
This followed a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in 2013, which led the actress to consider a career change and study nursing.
She was also inspired to co-write, produce and star in The In-Between, an independent film about two young women living with chronic illnesses, released in 2019.
Harper was the only non-Russian to appear in all 106 episodes of Wizards of Waverly Place
The actress became a qualified nurse in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
“I just hope I can do justice to all the amazing healthcare providers on the front lines as I prepare to join them now,” she posted on Instagram at the time.
Like the rest of her former “Wizards” co-stars, Stone hasn't strayed too far from the rest – she'll reunite with DeLuise in 2023 to co-host the “Wizards of Waverly Pod.”
In the podcast, the pair rewatch the iconic series, reveal behind-the-scenes stories and interview the cast and crew.