The first episode of the Wizards of Waverly Place sequel, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, debuted yesterday. Selena Gomez reprised her role as Alex Russo for the pilot alongside her TV brother Justin (played by Gomez’s good friend, David Henrie). While Gomez is just a guest star in the series, her performance as Alex was so spot-on that it drew the praise of fans on social media—causing to the term “Alex Russo” to trend on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Users were enthusiastic about Gomez’s work. “Alex and justin russo are sooo back,” one fan wrote. “Selena still has that Alex Russo charm. She’s so effortlessly funny,” another added.
Henrie, who leads the reboot series, spoke to The Wrap about why Gomez only stars in the first episode. He acknowledged that they easily slipped back into their roles while filming. “Honestly, the second they said action, Selena and I didn’t miss a beat,” he said. “It was like we had been doing the show all in between these past 13 years. We didn’t miss a beat. It was magical.”
“It was absolutely special, but it should have been harder! I don’t know, if you haven’t played a sport in 13 years and suddenly you’re back in the game, that should be difficult, but we always had such great chemistry and such a great banter back and forth, that didn’t go anywhere,” he added.
Then he explained the reason they opted to keep Gomez’s role in the series relatively small for now, although she remains an executive producer on the project. “There’s a whole new generation of kids that have no idea what Wizards of Waverly Place is,” he said. “So for us, that was always kind of the most important objective. And then it really is more contingent on Selena’s schedule and when we could fit things in. Everyone is very busy. So it’s like, how can we do what we really want to do, which is create these memorable experiences for a new generation of kids, but at the same time, respect the old?”
Gomez told Variety at the show’s premiere this week that “we wanted it to be collectively for everyone. We want it to be fresh.”
Watch Wizards Beyond Waverly Place on Disney+
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.