Jennifer Stone steps back into the role of Harper Finkle in the four-part series finale of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, premiering August 4 on Disney Channel and Disney+ — nearly 15 years after the original Wizards of Waverly Place ended its run. Stone, who attended nursing school after the original series wrapped and has been largely working in that field, described slipping back into the character as "like muscle memory" and "riding a bike" in an interview with Deadline published August 5.

She is not the only familiar face returning. Selena Gomez reprises Alex Russo, and Gregg Sulkin returns as Mason Greyback, the character he played in the original series. Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is a three-season continuation of the Wizards of Waverly Place franchise, rebooted two years before Stone's guest appearance in the final season.

The finale carries significant plot weight. In the final season, viewers learn that Billie is Alex's daughter. The Season 2 finale saw Alex throw herself through a dimensional rift to save her family, and the new episodes pick up the search for her fate — viewers discover what happened to Alex in the second episode of the four-part conclusion, according to Deadline.

Alex ends up in an alternate universe where she is living with Harper and dating Mason. Harper tries to hide from Alex that she believes Mason is on his way to propose. The reality underneath is darker: Mason is dead, and Harper is probably not real either. Mason is there to guide Alex back home.

Stone's return closes a loop that almost formed years earlier. When the original Wizards of Waverly Place ended, there were rumblings of potential spinoffs, including one where Harper and Alex lived in their own apartment. That series never materialised. Instead, the characters reunite inside the final episodes of a continuation that ran for three seasons on Disney Channel and Disney+.

For fans who grew up with the original run, the finale delivers a reunion that threads together characters from two eras of the franchise — and resolves Alex's story with a twist that reframes the world she lands in.