As someone who loved Wizards of Waverly Place growing up, I was beyond excited to speak with star/executive producer David Henrie and cast members Janice LeAnn Brown, Mimi Gianopulos, Alkaio Thiele, Max Matenko, and Taylor Cora about Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
Two episodes premiere tonight at 8 PM EDT on Disney Channel and then tomorrow, the first eight episodes will be available on Disney+.
“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” follows an adult Justin Russo, who has chosen to lead a normal, mortal life with his family, Giada, Roman and Milo. When Justin’s sister Alex brings Billie to his home seeking help, Justin 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.
“People who neglect their past or what they’re known for or run away from that, in a way, it kind of devalues the fans’ experience that they had watching that and that was a special moment for that person watching that show. If you’re to run away from that, say, ‘I don’t want to be known for that,’ or poo-poo that, then you’re really taking away a meaningful experience from someone. To me, I’m so grateful for all the impact that it’s had on people and it just seems to grow, and grow, and grow, it’s crazy. It’s crazy. No, I’m incredibly grateful and I realize the responsibility that I have in bringing this back, resurrecting the IP to make sure it’s done right,” Henrie, who reprises his role of Justin Russo, explained.
“I think the biggest thing is kind of mistrusting family in a way ‘cause I feel like that’s something that maybe a lot of people may be scared to touch on or maybe back away from a little bit,” Brown commented about portraying Billie. “The fact that my character kind of shows that for a lot of people, ‘cause I know some of my friends kind of mistrust family a lot or they’re dealing with family issues or feeling alone in their family and everything. So to me, the fact that I got to play a character who never had family or who was always abandoned by adult authority figures in her life, it genuinely means a lot to me. The fact that I get to play such a misunderstood character who doesn’t really have anyone, but is being accepted into a family that she never thought she’d be accepted of, which is the Russos, and being able to get taught a lot while expecting the worst out of it, I think it kind of really shows the value of, at least to me, that if you look at things in a more positive way, then it’ll come in a positive way.”
“When we all went out right before our live show in front of the audience and said hi, introduced ourselves, everyone just went wild, like went crazy and was so excited. I guess I wasn’t really expecting that, partly because they haven’t even seen anything yet and then I realized it’s so special because we already have people who wanna see this and are so excited from the original show,” Thiele shared about his most meaningful memory so far. “I think that’s really cool that we already have people who are willing to come out and see us without even knowing what it’s gonna be like.”
Cora added, “My most meaningful memory is probably at Talent 101 when I first got cast a few days before and we all met for Talent 101, and they just sat us down and I guess they went on this long speech about how it’s really only the beginning. I mean, the show’s not even out yet and everyone — we’re already being so supported, and there’s just so much more to experience and how this can get so much bigger.”
“Well, we were about to start our first live show and I was just so scared,” Matenko told me. “It was my first live show of my career and I was just so worried, and David pulled us all aside and he told us that we’re all doing this to make a kid laugh, we’re all doing this to make a kid smile, and that just really got to me because I am that kid. I love Disney and I have watched these shows, I’ve watched Wizards of Waverly Place and it’s made me smile, it’s made me laugh even when I’m not so happy and to be able to make that emotion for other kids, I think is just so special.”
“I think sometimes with other sequels, you see these shows where they’re trying to take one age group of the cast and then make it work for multiple age groups of viewers, and what’s really exceptional, unique, and exciting about our show is that the original fans like yourself have grown up and are adults now and so, with Justin Russo being a parent, having a career, and all those things, that’s what the adult viewers can watch and relate to,” Gianopulos expressed. “We’re really offering a multi-generational cast because we have multi-generational fans and so, you’re watching our storyline, then you’re watching the kids’ storyline. We also have different age kids, so you’re watching some middle school storylines, some younger storylines. So I think they’ve really hit the mark and it’s a hard one to hit, which is really having something for everyone and honoring the original show.”
We discussed making a series that the whole family can enjoy together, the fun of doing a Halloween-themed episode, all of the different character dynamics, special filming memories, and more.
Watch my interviews below:
