Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, the sequel series to the Disney Channel series that launched Selena Gomez‘s career, hits Disney+ on Oct. 30. Selena, who appears in the first episode and is executive producing the series, says it was surprising to her how easy it was to return to a role she hasn’t played in 13 years.
Selena and co-star David Henrie are back as magical siblings Justin and Alex Russo. “I was able to go back into Alex a little too quickly,” Selena laughed to ABC’s Good Morning America at the LA premiere of the show. “Alex is a fierce character. She’s a rule breaker but she always knows deep down that she has the right morals.”
“She wants to do what’s right. [She] just gets in her own way. And I’m proud to bring that back,” Selena added.
Despite all the acting she’s done since then — and the Oscar buzz surrounding her film Emilia Perez — Selena admitted to being nervous about being on set and acting with David after so many years. However, she noted, “I was also like, ‘This is home.’ And we could play and have fun.”
David, who’s co-executive producing the show, added, “The rhythm was there that we had in the past — just, ‘bang!"”
The original Wizards of Waverly Place aired on the Disney Channel from 2007 to 2012. In the new version, Justin has put his magic days behind him, until Alex returns with a young wizard-in-training and asks Justin to mentor her.
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