The singer-actress says goodbye to her beloved character
Selena Gomez and her time at Wizards of Waverly Place has come to an end following the final episode of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. The spin-off’s four-part finale was released on Disney+ on Tuesday. The star shared some insight on her journey with the cast following the show’s conclusion.
When speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Gomez reflected on her debut as Alex Russo on the original Disney Channel series in 2007 (which ended in 2012) — and reuniting with her co-stars Jennifer Stone and Gregg Sulkin for the reboot.
“This is it. This is the end of Wizards of Waverly Place, the end of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. And it’s really surreal to say that I’m done playing this character,” Gomez said.
“My hope is that people fall in love with family shows again, and that they hold this to a standard of appreciating what it means to just have a show that the whole family can get together, watch, hopefully laugh,” she added. “I’m going to really miss that.”
During the revival, Gomez also made her directorial debut for the third and final episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. For Stone, filming the final installments with Gomez felt emotional. “I was like, crying all the time ‘cause it felt like saying goodbye to — in a weird way — your teenage self,” Stone said. “Like you could go back as an adult and give your teenage self a hug and then let them go. That’s kind of what it felt like.”
Wizards of Waverly Place, which ran from 2007 to 2012, racked up two Emmys in the children’s program category and Gomez’s breakout role as Alex catapulted her career, leading Gomez to star in Disney Channel movies including Another Cinderella Story, Princess Protection Program, and Ramona and Beezus. The singer-actress later earned her first Emmy nod as a lead actress in a comedy series for her role in Only Murders in the Building.
