Selena Gomez On The Impact Of ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’

At the premiere of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” on Monday, October 28, Selena Gomez, who reprises her role as Alex Russo, expressed her gratitude for the opportunities the original series provided her.

Twelve years after the beloved Disney Channelshow “Wizards of Waverly Place” concluded, fans are in for a treat with the launch of its sequel. The new series follows Justin Russo, played once again by David Henrie, who is now a vice principal living on Staten Island with his wife Giada, an investigative reporter portrayed by Mimi Gianopulos. Together, they navigate life with their two sons, Roman (Alkaio Thiele) and Milo (Max Matenko).

Before its official release, Selena Gomez reflected on how the 2007 show was a launching pad for her career and how excited she is to be part of this new chapter in the wizarding world.

At the premiere of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” on Monday, October 28, Selena Gomez expressed her gratitude for the opportunities the original series provided her.

“It’s the best feeling in the whole world to be able to bring this back for you and to all the people who have never seen it before,” Gomez told PEOPLE Magazine, adding of her 11-year-old sister, Gracie, who was also at the screening, “My sister included. I’ve made her watch it. I don’t think she’s that into it, but I was so genuinely happy to be able to just bring the nostalgia back.”

Gomez added, “This is what gave me everything that I have today, and I’ll never forget that this is where I started.”

As for how she believes her character has evolved since the original show, Gomez told PEOPLE Magazine, “I personally think we kind of picked up where we left off and it shows a very established Justin and also a very established Alex and you’re still curious about what they’re going through, but it kind of felt like a rhythm we got back into.”

The new show, consisting of nine episodes, centers on Justin as he attempts to “lead a normal, mortal life with his family.” However, his routine is disrupted when Alex suddenly appears at his door, accompanied by young wizard Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown).

Alex hopes to convince Justin to come out of retirement and take on the role of mentor for Billie, reigniting his connection to the magical world he left behind.

“My character’s a father now. I have children and I am in real life too, so it was a very organic maturation process in the show,” he added. “We want this show to be a love letter to you, a big warm hug, but also an invitation to pass the wand to a whole new generation.”

Henrie’s character “realizes he must dust off his magical skills to mentor the wizard-in-training while also juggling his everyday responsibilities — and safeguarding the future of the Wizard World,” per the official synopsis.

The creation of the new “Wizards of Waverly Place” series can be traced back to casual wine nights shared by Gomez and Henrie.

During these laid-back gatherings, the two stars often found themselves pondering where their characters, Alex and Justin Russo, are in the present day.

“Inevitably, the conversation always goes back to Wizards. We’re always talking about what-ifs: Where would our characters be? What’s going on?” Henrie told Yahoo Entertainment. “It got to a point where I was like, ‘Selena, it’s been 17 years since we first started the show. Why don’t we have the same conversation in front of Disney without wine?”

Henrie emphasized the importance of capturing the essence of what made the original “Wizards of Waverly Place” special in the new series. He noted that the writers approached its themes in a way that was “different” from many other kids’ shows airing at the time.

“They believed that kids could handle stories that were a little deeper and went there a little more,” Henrie said. “We had these wonderful themes about family that were always hitting in new ways and got into the emotions. There’s a fearlessness to that.”

He added, “We really wanted to carry a lot of that forward into this new show. I’m excited for people to see that we took this responsibility seriously.”

“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” premieres with two episodes on Tuesday, October 29, at 8:00 p.m. ET on Disney Channel. Following the broadcast, the first nine episodes will be available to stream on Disney+ and Disney Channel On Demand the following day.