The first 9 episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Placethe long awaited Wizards of Waverly Place spin-off series, are now streaming on Disney+, and these are the 8 biggest reveals from the series’ new episodes. Wizards Beyond Waverly Place centers on Justin Russo, the oldest of the Russo brothers, although there are several members of the Russo family among Wizards Beyond Waverly Place cast of characters. The reboot is set about 15 years later Wizards of Waverly Place, based on Justin Russo’s age in The Wizard Beyond Waverly Place.
Given this great leap forward in time, numerous significant changes have occurred in the Russo family. While many of these changes have come with Justin as the lead of the spin-off show, there were several surprising updates for the Russo family revealed in the show’s first 9 episodes. Of all the revelations so far, these 8 represent the biggest.
8
Jerry Russo started working for SPELLP
The Russo brothers’ father returns when Billie calls SPELLP-Line
Like Selena Gomez’s Alex Russo, the Russo brothers’ father, Jerry Russo (David DeLuise), will only guest star in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. The beloved Disney Channel dad has already had his first cameo in the spin-off. Episode 7, “We’re Going to Need a Bigger Float,” reveals that since Wizards of Waverly PlaceJerry started volunteering at SPELLP, an organization that helps wizards find information (although it’s not meant to be used for homework, which is exactly why Billie ends up calling the “SPELLP Line”).
The beloved Disney Channel dad has already had his first cameo in the spin-off.
Jerry jokes that Theresa Russo, his wife and mother of Russo’s children, started playing tennis, and Jerry proved to be a terrible tennis partner. Instead, he has started volunteering at SPELLP while Theresa plays tennis – confirmation that the two are now true empty nesters. Along with this news came the revelation that Jerry and Justin Russo had already stopped talking about magic to each other. due to some unfortunate events in Justin’s life.
7
Justin Russo and Juliet Van Heusen split
Beloved Wizards of Waverly Place couple shut down on-screen
Justin Russo has had several relationships in Wizards of Waverly Placeincluding with Rosie, who turns out to be a dark angel (although she eventually becomes a guardian angel once again). Justin’s most popular relationship in Wizards of Waverly Place went easily with Juliet, however. Like her namesake, Juliet Capulet from William Shakespeare’s film Cheese and guavaJuliet Van Heusen (Bridgit Mendler) in Wizards of Waverly Place found herself in a star-crossed lovers dynamic with Justin, as their families owned opposite restaurants.
Juliet was also revealed to be a vampire in Wizards of Waverly Placewhich, while it initially added a layer of complication to their relationship, ultimately helped Juliet and Justin bond over their complex experiences with their non-mortal identities. Partly because of this, and because Mendler was wonderful in the role, Juliet became a very popular character, and audiences loved their relationship. Node Wizards of Wavery Place In the end, Juliet and Justin were still together.
In the reboot, Justin is married to a mortal woman named Giada.
Sadly, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place confirms that Juliet and Justin broke up sometime after Wizards of Waverly Place. In the reboot, Justin is married to a mortal woman named Giada. While it’s sad – both because the couple was popular and because it means Bridgit Mendler almost certainly won’t make a cameo – it makes sense. Justin was still quite young at the end of Wizards of Waverly Place (Juliet’s age was more complicated, as a vampire), and it stands to reason that things could have changed in the intervening years.
6
Justin Russo married Giada
Justin married a mortal woman
As mentioned, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place reveals that Justin Russo, now 34, married a mortal named Giada since Wizards of Waverly Place it ended. While many viewers may be disappointed to learn that Juliet and Justin didn’t end up together, Giada is a charming character, and it’s clear that Justin and Giada truly love each other. Giada also proves to be a good match for Justin, teasing and pushing him when necessary but also clearly supporting him.
The exact details of Justin’s romantic history have yet to be revealed on the show. The first 9 episodes don’t address what happened between Justin and Juliet, and that information may never come. The episodes also don’t provide much information about how Justin and Giada met or what their relationship has been like since then, but it seems more likely that this will happen in future episodes of the series or perhaps in a possible Wizards Beyond Waverly Place 2nd season.
5
Justin Russo had two sons, Roman and Milo
Justin’s children’s powers have not yet been fully revealed
In addition to marrying Giada, Justin has had two children since Wizards of Waverly Placesons Roman (the oldest) and Milo (the youngest). Although this new Russo family only had two children, while there were three brothers in Wizards of Waverly PlaceRoman, Milo and the young wizard Billie have a very similar dynamic to Justin, Alex and Max Russo. Like Justin, Roman is the eager, rule-following older brother, and like Max, Milo is the sweet but sometimes troublesome younger brother. Billie plays the role of Alex Russo, as a brilliant, powerful, but very sarcastic teenage wizard.
Roman, Milo and the young wizard Billie end up having a dynamic very similar to that of Justin, Alex and Max Russo.
One of the most interesting things about Milo and Roman so far is that the extent of his powers has not yet been revealed. Towards the end of the first 9 episodes of the series, Roman began experimenting with magic, but that was as far as any of the brothers got. Given how clearly genetic magic is in Wizards of Waverly Placeit seems likely that both Milo and Roman will become powerful wizards, but that remains to be seen.
4
Justin hid his magical abilities from his family
At the beginning of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, her identity is still a secret
One of the biggest surprises Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is that, for years, Justin hid his powers from his wife and children. In addition to being a questionable decision regardless of the circumstances, it is a shock considering Justin’s character. He was always described as the honest, wise and responsible brother of the three Wizards of Waverly Placeand this decision seems antithetical to that. In fact, Alex directly comments on this, saying that she is “so proud” that he is lying.
Giada, Roman, and Milo have no idea that wizards and magic are real at the beginning of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
Not only has Justin not told his wife or kids that he’s a wizard, but Giada, Roman, and Milo have no idea that wizards and magic are real at the beginning of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. This quickly comes to a head in the show when Alex appears with Billie, at which point Justin has to finally confess everything. Giada forgives Justin’s lie of omission incredibly quickly, given the years Justin hid this information, but it’s clear that for at least a decade, Justin was suppressing this side of himself and the truth.
3
Alex Russo joined the court
Alex is now part of Wizard law enforcement
Alex Russo’s biggest news in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place So far that’s it, since Wizards of Waverly PlaceAlex joined the Wizard Court. Wizards of Waverly Place revealed that the Tribunal deals with crimes against Wizarding Law, meaning that Alex has started working as an agent of Wizarding law. This role suits Alex, who has always been a brilliant and powerful wizard and would like an exciting, action-packed job like this.
At the moment, little is known about Alex’s work and it remains to be seen how much more will be shown. Alex will have cameos, but she is not a series regular. However, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place also revealed that the fate of the world depends on Billie and her training with Justin. Episode 9, “Wiz-Taken Identity,” also revealed that some evil being is orchestrating events from the shadows, which will likely require the Court’s involvement at some point.
2
Justin Russo was fired from WizTech
Justin There was a mysterious “unicorn incident” that cost him his job
One of the most surprising revelations about Justin Russo in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place that was it, at some point between Wizards of Waverly Place and Wizards Beyond Waverly PlaceJustin Russo was fired from WizTech. WizTech was introduced in Wizards of Waverly Place like a wizard school that Justin, Alex, and Max attended at various points in the show. At the end of Wizards of Waverly PlaceJustin took over as director of WizTech following the Russo Family Wizard Competition.
The exact circumstances of Justin’s dismissal from WizTech remain a mystery. At one point, Alex refers to a “unicorn incident” resulting in Justin losing his job, but the exact details are unclear. It seems likely that this will be explored in future episodes of the series, given how significant the event was, which will be interesting. Justin is consistently a trustworthy and competent character, so finding out what exactly caused his dismissal will be fascinating.
1
Justin stopped using his magic
After being dumped, Justin abandoned the wizarding life
The biggest change that occurred between Wizards of Waverly Place and Wizards Beyond Waverly Place and that Justin completely walked away from the magic between the two shows. This was undoubtedly in part a result of Justin’s dismissal from WizTech. Clearly, this was a devastating event in Justin’s life, and it makes sense that it would have caused Justin to step away from magic for a while. The revelation that Justin had gone years without magic was, however, shocking.
With Justin entirely hiding his magical abilities from his wife and children, it’s also possible that Justin directly gave up magic to live a “normal” life with his mortal wife and potentially deadly children. This can’t completely explain Justin’s decision to step away from magic, as it’s clear this was a sensitive topic. As mentioned, Justin and Jerry stopped talking about magic in any way, which suggests that Justin’s family wasn’t the only reason.
It’s safe to say that Justin is returning to the life of a true wizard in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
It’s safe to say that Justin is returning to the life of a true wizard in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. Not only did Justin agree to train Billie, but he also quickly became jealous of Alex’s status as part of the Wizarding Court. Clearly, Justin is ready to embrace magic once again. It will be exciting to see Justin continue to reconnect with his magical side, and many more revelations are sure to come in future episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.