By Courtney Potter
The highly anticipated four-part Wizards Beyond Waverly Place finale event is finally here! All four episodes premiere Tuesday, August 4, on Disney Channel, and stream next day on Disney+.
As we pick back up with our Waverly Place faves, Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown)—still reeling from losing Alex (Selena Gomez) at the end of Season 2—discovers that the only way to rescue her mother is to reunite with her long-lost father… As her family bands together to find Alex, Billie realizes that their combined power is the only way the Russos can defeat the evil plaguing them.
As previously announced, executive producer Gomez will not only make her directorial debut with the premiere episode, but she’ll also reprise her role as Alex in multiple episodes. Wizards Beyond Waverly Place also stars David Henrie as Justin Russo, Alkaio Thiele as Roman Russo, Max Matenko as Milo Russo, Taylor Cora as Winter, and Mimi Gianopulos as Giada Russo. Guest stars include Brandon Micheal Hall as Damien Penwulf, Billie’s father—as well as the previously announced returns of Jennifer Stone as Harper Finkle, Gregg Sulkin as Mason Greyback, Maria Canals-Barrera as Theresa Russo, Ramon Reed as Silas Evilini, and Tobias Jelinek as Lord Morsus.
With the finale event poised to thrill fans—as well as tug at a few heartstrings—D23 recently had the chance to sit down for an exclusive chat with Henrie (who’s also an executive producer on the series) to hear about his experience making these sure-to-be-memorable episodes…
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
D23: Thanks for chatting with us today! So outside of it wrapping up the story, what do YOU think makes this four-part finale event particularly special?
David Henrie (DH): Well, we’re bringing a lot of closure—which is self-evident—but it really is extra meaningful to me because when we started this new show, we wanted to represent the real magic of the original show, which is family. The real “secret sauce” of the Russos at their core has been family—in all its messy and joyful and loving forms. We wanted to tell another family story. But how do you do that? How do you do it in a different way than the original show? And for us, we wanted to start in the opposite place. The original show started with a pretty tight-knit family who understands what family is—and we wanted to start this show off without that understanding, so we brought in a character who doesn’t really have a family or know who her family is, and we have to teach her what family’s all about.
And we also wanted my character to rediscover what the Russos really are—what they stand for; their core family values. My character was living in denial in the beginning of the show and running away from his wizardry past. So for me, this is a very meaningful four-part season finale—because that original idea that we started with years ago is now reaching its culmination. We’ve learned that Alex is Billie’s mother; we’re learning about who Billie’s father is; and we get to reunite a husband and a wife who have been estranged—and reveal why. And we get to introduce husband and wife to their daughter and bring a family back together… and have my character let go. Justin has to let go of this girl who he’s really started to love as a fatherly figure. It’s packed with tons of emotion, tons of heart. And I can’t wait to see what people think.
D23: We know you’ve already directed an episode of the series—so what was it like to watch as Selena made her own directorial debut with the premiere episode?
DH: I was so proud of her! She had all sorts of great comedic instincts working with the cast—how to sharpen our jokes and “plus up” moments. She was great with blocking, helping us know where and when to walk and why. Blocking can really change a scene! Blocking can make a joke work; if you say a joke while walking, it might not be funny—but if you stay part of the line while walking stop, turn around, and deliver the punch line, suddenly it’s funny. You’ve got to have a fundamental understanding of that—and she’s done it so many times that she really has that knowledge and was helping make a lot of it work. Plus, she knows me so well—so she could just come up to me and be like, “David, do ‘your thing’ a little more. Okay, bye.” And then she’d walk off and I’d know exactly what she wanted!
D23: That’s so great… And what’s it been like to watch as Janice has grown throughout this series?
DH: I remember watching her audition and I was just like, yeah, she’s the girl. That’s her. I called Selena right away—I threw her audition tape up on a Zoom and showed it to Selena and she agreed: “That’s our girl.” Janice just had that spark; this very special “it” factor—call it what you want. It’s hard to put into words, but she had a spark and I’ve watched that spark continue to shine throughout these past few years. With her, it was just encouraging her to continue to learn what a sitcom is and how to do the sitcom thing but not lose that spark. In fact, trust the spark more! So watching her trust her instincts has been beautiful. And I’ve loved it every step of the way.
D23: Was there a specific moment during production of these last four episodes where it hit you—that this was a really special situation, being able to return to this world for three seasons and tell these new stories?
DH: A moment that really stands out is the scene where I had to “let go” of Billie. She’s nervous to meet her dad—and will he like her? What will all of that be? It’s a very deep scene. And in that scene, Justin remembers what he loves about her—and he realizes he’s going to have to let go. That was a really special moment for Janice and me, and I hope it resonates with fans as well.
D23: Anything else you want to tell D23.com readers, and fans of the series, about your experience making this four-episode final event?
DH: I want to know what the fans want going forward… because there’s definitely still some story to tell! But mostly I just hope they sink their teeth into this finale, and I can’t wait to see people’s reactions.
Don’t miss all four new episodes of the Wizards Beyond Waverly Place finale event—premiering Tuesday, August 4, on Disney Channel and streaming next day on Disney+! (And don’t forget: All episodes of the first two seasons of the series are also available now on Disney+.)