Selena Gomez has revealed her next career step, announcing that she’ll be bringing some magic back to the Disney Channel.
She and former Wizards of Waverly Place co-star David Henrie are reuniting to appear in a new pilot episode serving as a sequel to the flagship series, Disney announced on Thursday.
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“We’re back!” Gomez wrote in her Instagram stories the same day, sharing a throwback photo of herself with Henrie on the original Waverly set.
Also sharing part of a Deadline article announcing the news, Gomez wrote that she was “so excited”.
She also shared the front cover of the pilot script with the comment: “Home again”.
The new pilot episode will feature Gomez reprising her character Alex Russo in a guest-starring capacity, with Henrie returning as her brother Justin.
Newcomers Janice LeAnn Brown, Alkaio Thiele and Mimi Gianopulos round out the cast for the pilot.
According to an official synopsis of the sequel episode, the story will pick up “after a mysterious incident at WizTech, where an adult Justin Russo (Henrie) has left his wizard powers behind, opting for a normal, human life with his wife and two sons.
”When a powerful young wizard in need of training shows up,” Henrie’s Justin is faced with embracing his past “to ensure the future of the Wizard World,” the synopsis read.
“The Russo’s (sic) are excited to become a part of your family, once again, but we’ve grown,” Henrie wrote on his Instagram page on Thursday.
“2024, the year magic comes back!”
The original series aired from 2007 to 2012 and followed the Russo siblings, played by Gomez and Henrie, who navigated coming of age while perfecting their magical and wizardly powers.
Fans loved the news that there would be a reboot, flocking to Henrie’s Instagram comments to say how much they were looking forward to it.
“NO WAY!!!! OMG BEST NEWS EVER!!!!!!” one fan gushed.
“I’m not crying. I’m not crying. I’m not crying. I’M CRYING!!!” added another.
“Yes, I’m so happy for all of you, I’ve missed Wizards so much!” wrote a third.
“Congratulations David, I’m so excited for you and the rest too — this is so exciting, I can’t wait for it.”
Launching pad
Gomez’s career took off as both an actress and a musician following the original series’ debut, but she recently expressed her wish to focus more on her acting career.
“The older I get the more I’m kind of like, I would like to find something to just settle on,” she said on a recent episode of the Smartless podcast.
“I wanted to be an actress.
“I never really intended on being a singer full time, but apparently that hobby turned into something else.”
Gomez currently stars in the Emmy-winning Hulu series Only Murders in the Building alongside Martin Short and Steven Martin.
The megastar has released three studio albums since 2013, with hits that collectively include Come & Get It, Same Old Love and Lose You to Love Me.
She earned her first of two Grammy nods for best Latin pop album in 2022 for her Spanish-language EP Revelacion.
Late last year, she released her most recent track, Single Soon.
Moving between her music and acting careers has taken its toll on Gomez, she said, in part due to her mental health struggles – a topic she spoke openly about in her 2022 docuseries Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me.
While she acknowledged there was nothing forcing her to choose between music and acting, she admitted a choice may be looming in the future.
“I’m going to want to chill because I’m tired,” she said.
In addition to her pursuits in music and acting, Gomez founded her cosmetics company Rare Beauty in 2020, which she called “the biggest gift” on the podcast.
“I launched it during COVID and it just took off and I couldn’t be more thankful,” she added.
“I’m really proud.”
– with CNN
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