Selena Gomez is sending off “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” with a milestone of her own as she makes her directorial debut in the Disney show’s four-part finale.
In an exclusive featurette shared with TheWrap, Gomez reflected on her experience closing out the “Wizards of Waverly Place” spinoff series from the director’s chair, nearly 20 years after the original series debuted on Disney Channel.
“Being able to come back to ‘Wizards’ to do an episode where I could direct felt so safe for me,” Gomez said in the featurette. “It’s my people — I grew up with them.”
That security extended to David Henrie, who started playing Gomez’s on-screen brother, Justin, back when “Wizards of Waverly Place” kicked off in 2007.
“I’ve never felt more comfortable with the director in my entire life,” Henrie said. “She’d come in and go, ‘David, I know you got more,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, okay, got it, I know what you want,’ and she goes, ‘Go for it.’”
For the child actors in the Disney series, it was an “honor” to flex the skills they’ve learned since “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” debuted in 2024 for Gomez, while also noting the safe set she built. “She makes sure we’re all happy with ourselves and our performances before moving on,” Taylor Cora said.
“When I was younger, they trusted me to make a joke funny,” Gomez said. “They pushed me till it was funny and I liked that challenge.”
Gomez also got to relish in the pleasure of having another original co-star from “Wizards” on set as Jennifer Stone, who played Harper, joined for the finale.
“She’s stepping into being the director that she wanted when she was a kid, so it’s just really cool to see that come full circle,” Stone said.
“We’re just really grateful that this was how we got to wrap up everything and to be able to direct was just the cherry on top,” Gomez said.
The “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” four-part finale premieres Aug. 4 on Disney Channel and debuts the next day on Disney+.
