Wizards Beyond Waverly Place premiered on October 29, 2024 and saw the return of the old cast members David Henrie and Selena Gomez as wizards after over ten years the Wizards of Waverly Place had concluded.
However, another old cast member, Jake T. Austin has been missing in action.
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Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is a revival of Disney Channel's hit 2007 show and revists Justin Russo (Henrie), the eldest Russo sibling, who has now left his craft behind and attempts to live a regular life with his family.
However, this life gets disrupted when his sister Alex (Gomez) shows up and asks him to take on a new student named Billie (Janice LeeAnn Brown).
The show is executive produced by both Gomez and Henrie, with Gomez making guest appearances while Henrie appears as a series regular.
However, Austin, the one supposed to revive the role of Max, the youngest Russo sibling, was not present in the first four episodes of the show.
So, let us now explore if Jake T. Austin will return to Wizards Beyond Waverly Place and how is his absence addressed in the show.
Will Jake T. Austin show up on Wizards Beyond Waverly Place?
Despite Austin not being present as Max in the initial episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, the chances of him featuring in the show cannot be ruled out yet.
In January 2024, a photo was shared by Henrie with his on screen family that also missed the youngest of the Russo family. However, dispute not being in the picture, Austin had reposted the picture on his stories, saying,
“Wow! Am looking forward to getting together with my Wizards family."
After starring in Wizards of Waverly Place, Austin was featured in two seasons of the show Foster before stepping away from not only the show but also from Hollywood.
In February 2019, Austin reflected on his exit on an interview with the Flaunt magazine, saying, he had fallen into "the trap of being in Hollywood."
He further explained that,
"running with the wrong crowd, making some bad choices and also not taking the work seriously.”
He also said that after years of playing the characters that he played, he lost his sense of self and got enveloped in those characters.
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How did Wizards Beyond Waverly Place explain Max’s absence?
In the very first episode of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, Max’s absence has been addressed briefly, when a young wizard named Billie shows up on Justin's doorstep with Alex and asks him if he is the "billionaire" sibling, who is the owner of all the sandwich shops.
To this question, Justin responds by saying,
"Uh, no, that would be Max. I'm a middle school vice principal, which some would say is much cooler than being a billionaire."
This response not only explains Max’s absence to some extent but also aligns with how the original show had ended with Alex and Justin retaining their wizard powers and Max inheriting the family’s sandwich shop, the Waverly Sub Station.
Also read: Who is Dr. Eli Adler on Before and whose death is he grieving? Explained
Have Selena Gomez and David Henrie said anything about Jake T. Austin's return?
When the Wizards Beyond Waverly Place was announced, Henrie made a comment addressing the fans’ curiosity regarding the return of the original cast, saying,
"We definitely plan on bringing back the original cast for the series order 🙌❤️."
Gomez, on the other hand, did not comment directly regarding Austin’s return but mentioned that she had marinated a friendship with her on-screen brother over the years. Therefore, though it still remains unclear whether Austin will return to the show at least as a guest star, the possibility of it cannot be denied.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place can be streamed on Disney+.
Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more updates on shows!
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