Wizards Beyond Waverly Place saw the return of Selena Gomez and David Henrie as magicians over 10 years later The Wizards of Waverly Place ended, but Jake T. Austin was missing so far.

The revival of the hit Disney Channel show from 2007 The Wizards of Waverly Place premiered on October 29th. The series revolves around Justin Russo (Henrie), Russo's eldest brother, who has given up his craft and is trying to live a normal life with his new family – until his sister Alex (Gomez) shows up and asks her brother for a new one Taking in student, Billie (Janice LeeAnn Brown).

The series is executive produced by Gomez, who makes a guest appearance, and Henrie, who appears regularly on the series. Meanwhile, Austin's portrayal of Max, the youngest Russo sibling, was missing from the first episode of the revival.

Max shows up too Wizards Beyond Waverly Place? Here's all about how the series handled his absence from the premiere and whether he plans to make an appearance.

Will Max appear? Wizards Beyond Waverly Place?

Although Austin was absent as Max in the first few episodes, his return is not out of the question.

In January 2024, Henrie shared a photo on Instagram with his on-screen family, in which he particularly missed the youngest Russo sibling. Despite missing the family affair, Austin reposted the picture to his Instagram Stories and added: “Wow! I'm looking forward to getting together with my Wizards family.

After the main role The Wizards of Waverly Place, Austin continued playing The Fosters for two seasons before stepping away from the show in 2015 and taking a break from Hollywood.

He later reflected on his exit in an interview with Flaunt magazine in February 2019, explaining that he fell into “the trap of being in Hollywood.” The actor stated that he “worked with the wrong audience, made some bad decisions and didn't take the work seriously.”

Austin continued that he had “lost sight of who I was as a person” after years of being “really enveloped and connected to the characters I was playing.”

But he still fondly remembers his time on the Disney Channel show and appreciates the “doors that opened for him.”

“It was a huge learning experience to be on such a successful, groundbreaking show at such a young age,” he told Flaunt. “Probably one of the most educational experiences of my life.”

Austin has since returned to Hollywood and starredThe Emoji movie And Disadvantageous – and possibly make a guest appearance later Wizards Beyond Waverly Placealthough nothing has been confirmed.

How did it happen? Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Explain Max's absence?

In the first episode of the revival, Max's absence is briefly addressed when Billie, a young wizard, shows up on Justin's doorstep with Alex and asks him if he is the “billionaire” brother who owns all the sandwich shops.

“Uh, no, that would be Max,” Justin told her. “I’m an assistant principal at a middle school, which some people think is way cooler than being a billionaire.”

This is consistent with the original The Wizards of Waverly Place The series has come to an end: The Russo siblings competed to see which of them got to keep their powers and become the family wizard.

In a turn of events, both Alex and Justin retained their power, while Max inherited the family sandwich shop – the Waverly Sub Station.

“So, Alex and Justin are going to be wizards and I'm going to get the family Sub Station?” he asked his father. “That’s great!”

What did Selena Gomez and David Henrie say about the return of Jake T. Austin?

When the revival series was first announced in January, Henrie teased a copy of the script on his Instagram, and fans expressed concern in the comments about whether or not the original cast would return.

Henrie expressed his plans for the series, replying in a comment: “We definitely plan to bring back the original cast for the series order 🙌❤️.”

Although Gomez hasn't directly commented on Austin's return, she did share that she and her on-screen little brother have maintained a friendship over the years.

In September 2024 Vanity Fair video, Gomez joked, “Jake, why don't you ever respond to my texts?”

“He's become a bit handsome. He had all the girls, I remember that,” she continued, before clarifying, “I compliment you.”

What other original cast members will be returning for Wizards Beyond Waverly Place?

Although Henrie will be the only series cast member, many other original cast members will also be returning.

David DeLuise, who played Russian patriarch Jerry Russo, appeared in episode 7 of the first season.

Meanwhile, Maria Canals-Barrera, who portrayed Russian matriarch Theresa, shared a photo on Instagram in January with the caption: “You're going to LOVE the new Wizards show!”

She told PEOPLE on the series premiere that she was proud of Gomez and Henrie for “passing the magic wand and keeping it going.”

As for the Russos' family and friends, Harper Finkle (Jennifer Stone) and Mason Greyback (Gregg Sulkin) have both hinted at a possible return.

In September 2024, Henrie shared a photo with Sulkin on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “Guess who visited setttttttttt 🐺?”

Meanwhile, DeLuise revealed in a February 2024 episode The Wizards of Waverly Pod – hosted by him and Stone – that he had had discussions with Henrie about the return of her two characters and that he could imagine Harper joining in later.

“I think to make a sequel or revival successful, you have to follow up on the original that people fell in love with and then create something of your own and tie them together somehow. So it'll be interesting to see how he gets it done and “I'm excited to see what he does with it,” Stone said.