David Henrie, Selena Gomez Address Jake T. Austin'sWizardsReboot Absence by Revealing His Character's 'Billionaire' Fate

Mar. 15, 2025

Jake T. Austin (left); David Henrie and Selena Gomez at the ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ premiere in L.A. on Oct. 28, 2024.Photo:Amy Sussman/Getty; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

Amy Sussman/Getty; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

Wizards Beyond Waverly Placebrought back Justin and Alex Russo after 12 years, but the youngest Russo sibling, Max, seems to be missing.

David Henrieleads the Disney Channel reboot as he reprises his character, Justin, who now has a wife and family and has moved on from his life as the family wizard.Selena Gomez,meanwhile, guest starred on the show’s premiere episode as Justin’s sister Alex, who brought a young wizard, Billie (Janice LeeAnn Brown), to her brother’s doorstep hoping he’d agree to be her teacher.

After arriving on his doorstep, Billie asks Justin, “So, you’re the guy who owns all the sandwich shops? Like, the billionaire.”

“Uh, no, that would be Max,” Justin told her. “I’m a middle school vice principal, which some would say is much cooler than being a billionaire.”

“I would never say that,” Alex (Gomez) replied, and Billie echoed the same sentiment, telling Justin, “Nobody says that.”

Jake T. Austin, Selena Gomez, and David Henrie in the series finale of ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’.Craig Sjodin/Disney Channel/Getty

Craig Sjodin/Disney Channel/Getty

Whenthe reboot series was first announced in January, Henrie, 35, eased fans' worries onInstagramafter David DeLuise, who played Russo patriarch Jerry Russo, seemed to be unaware of the show in an Instagram comment.

Henrie quickly shut down those concerns, though, as he said in a comment, “We definitely plan on bringing back the original cast for the series order 🙌❤️.”

DeLuise did return as Jerry in the show, but Max (Austin) nor the Russo matriarch, Theresa (Maria Canals-Barrera), has yet to appear.

David Henrie, Janice LeAnn Brown, Selena Gomez in ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’.Eric McCandless/Disney

Eric McCandless/Disney

After his time onWizards of Waverly Place, Austin, now 29, went on to star inThe Fostersfor two seasons before stepping away from the show. He later opened up in an interview withFlauntabout falling into “the trap of being in Hollywood” as he said was he “running with the wrong crowd, making some bad choices and also not taking the work seriously.”

Austin also admitted he “started losing touch in many ways” after spending six years onWizardsand thenThe Fosters.

“For a while, I was really enveloped in the characters I was playing and connected to them, but as I was growing up in front of the camera and going through puberty and going through my life, I kind of lost sight of who I was as a person."

Selena Gomez and David Henrie in ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’.Disney

Disney

He still has a friendship with Gomez, though, as the Rare Beauty mogul joked in a video forVanity Fairlast month, “Jake, why don’t you ever answer my texts?”

“You know, he’s… He got a little handsome. He had all the girls, I remember that,” she continued of her former costar, before clarifying, “I’m complimenting you.”

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Wizards Beyond Waverly Placeis now streaming on Disney+.

source: people.com