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The Russo family is making magic again. With their Wizards of Waverly Place sequel series on the way, Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Maria Canals-Barrera, and David DeLuise came back together and shared the reunion photos with their fans. The TV family was missing one member, but the debut of the next generation of Russos helped make up for it.
Bringing Back The Magic
The actors’ reunion photos came just over a week after Deadline reported that Disney had ordered a Wizards of Waverly Place sequel series pilot. Henrie and DeLuise shared a snap of the two of them alongside Gomez and Canals-Barrera, captioning it, “The Russos … coming back.” Together, they made up four of the five members of the magical family at the center of the Disney Channel sitcom running from 2007 to 2012. Three teen siblings — Justin (Henrie), Alex (Gomez), and Max (Jake T. Austin) — competed to become the keeper of their family’s magical powers while living an otherwise normal teenage existence, under the care of their parents, Jerry (DeLuise) and Theresa (Canals-Barrera).
While several fans noted Austin’s absence in the comments and called for his return, many simply delighted in seeing the family reunited. “What a beautiful family photo,” one wrote, and another added, “It’s so awesome seeing all of them together again!” Others specifically noted how excited they are to see the sequel series.
Introducing The Next Generation
A new generation of Russos will enter the spotlight in the Wizards of Waverly Place sequel. Though Gomez is reprising her role as Alex for the pilot and executive producing alongside Henrie, Justin and his family are the focus. The pilot will bring viewers into his new life as a husband and father who no longer has his wizard powers. He’ll be trying to live a mortal life with his wife, Giada (Mimi Gianopulos), and their two sons, played by Alkaio Thiele and Max Matenko, when a powerful young wizard named Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown) comes to him for training.
Henrie introduced the newest members of the Russo family in another Instagram post. He, Gianopulos, Thiele, Matenko, and Brown all pose together in the two-photo carousel, and in one snap, Gomez appears to be trying to embrace them all. “The Russo’s have grown ;),” Henrie wrote.
Thiele also posted photos with his new TV family members in his Instagram stories, including one of him, Matenko, and DeLuise. “Hey, gramps,” he added in text. Sharing it to his own stories, DeLuise was every bit the proud grandfather. “The next generation of Russos are so talented!” he wrote. In other stories, he celebrated “getting the gang back together” and confirmed to Henrie that he’s “ready to make some magic again.”
So far, there’s been no announcement about when fans can expect to see the Wizards of Waverly Place sequel pilot. A reboot has been a long time in the making already, so hopefully fans can be patient a little longer.
