David Henrie explains how he and Selena Gomez developed 'Wizards' reboot

ANAHEIM, Calif. — From brainstorming during hang outs to pitching to Disney executives, David Henrie explains how he and Selena Gomez developed the new “Wizards” reboot, “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.”

“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” follows Justin Russo (Henrie), now an adult with his own family. When his sister Alex (Gomez) brings Billie (Janice Leann Brown) to his home seeking help, he must reacquaint himself with magic and the Wizard World.

Both Henrie and Gomez are executive producers on the new series, and the two knew they wanted a show with heart.

“Selena and I, we get together fairly frequently, and when I got married, it’d just be her, me and my wife sitting around talking about what the characters would be doing. And after a few years, we were like, ‘I think we’ve got a show,'” Henrie explained to On The Red Carpet.

Alkaio Thiele, Janice Leann Brown, Selena Gomez, Max Matenko, Mimi Gianopulos and David Henrie on the set of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.”

Disney/Eric McCandless

After speaking to executives and developing their ideas over several years, the pair knew that one of their big goals for the show was a focus on family.

He talked about the original series, “Wizards of Waverly Place,” where “part of the magic of the show was what happened off camera, and off camera, we were really like a family. So, there really wasn’t that pressure, because we had each other’s backs.”

Over the years, fans would approach him and Gomez, expressing that “Wizards” was “the family I never had,” he said. “Those are the wonderful, familial themes that the original show had that we wanted to bring to the table for a whole new audience.”

Brown told us “when it comes to Billie coming into this real world instead of the Wizard World, she feels like she’s not going to be accepted. Justin’s here for her, and I just think the love in the show feels so real.”

She expressed having the same fears as her character, when it came to being accepted, but learned “both the characters accepted Billie and the actors, they all accepted me, and I just felt like I was where I belong. It just felt so right.”

“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” is coming soon to Disney Channel and Disney+.

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