Jake T. Austin says he was disappointed not to be part of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, the revival series that just wrapped its run on Disney Channel.

In an Instagram Story posted on Thursday, Austin wrote that he was "disappointed" not to be included in the revival, but expressed nothing but love for his former castmates and wished them continued success. His comments came two days after Wizards Beyond Waverly Place aired its series finale on Tuesday, closing out a three-season run that began in 2024 (The Hollywood Reporter).

The original Wizards of Waverly Place ran on Disney Channel from 2007 to 2012, starring Austin, Selena Gomez and David Henrie as the Russo siblings — three magic-wielding teenagers navigating life in New York City. When the revival was first being discussed back in 2020, Austin says he was asked whether he wanted to reprise his role as Max, the youngest Russo sibling. He says he was "100% in." But the show's creators ultimately took the project in a different direction, and his character was not part of it (The Hollywood Reporter).

There is a competing account of how that went down. In an interview with TV Insider published on Wednesday, David Henrie — who returned as Justin Russo and served as an executive producer on the revival — said Austin was "definitely asked back" but that he was busy at the time. The two accounts differ on why Austin did not appear: Austin says the creators moved on without his character, while Henrie suggests a scheduling conflict (The Hollywood Reporter).

What fans of the original series got instead was a storyline explanation for Max's absence. In Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, the character is said to have turned the family's Waverly Sub Station sandwich shop into a billion-dollar franchise and now lives on a yacht — a light-hearted send-off that acknowledged the character without bringing the actor back on screen (The Hollywood Reporter).

Gomez and Henrie both returned for the revival and executive produced the series, alongside David DeLuise and Maria Canals-Barrera reprising their roles as the Russo parents. The revival ran for three seasons before concluding this week.

For fans who grew up with the Russos, the finale closes a chapter that never quite reassembled the full family. Austin's message makes clear there are no hard feelings toward his former co-stars. But the gap between his account and Henrie's — asked back and eager, or asked back and too busy — is one neither side has fully reconciled.