Jake T. Austin breaks silence on why he wasn't in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place
7 August 2026, 15:05 | Updated: 17 August 2026, 11:36
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place has faced criticism for excluding Jake T. Austin as Max Russo.
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Wizard of Waverly Place's Jake T. Austin has opened up about why he doesn't star in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
Ever since Wizards Beyond Waverly Place debuted on the Disney Channel, the show has faced criticism for excluding members of the original Wizard of Waverly Place cast. For example, actors like Jennifer Stone (Harper Finkle) and Maria Canals-Barrera (Theresa Russo) and David DeLuise (Jerry Russo) only appear in a guest capacity.
Perhaps most notably, Jake T. Austin isn't in it at all and people have been confused why Alex and Justin's younger brother Max Russo has been excluded form the show. Now, Jake has spoken out and called out the series which ended with its four-episode third season on August 4th.
- Read more: Wizards Beyond Waverly Place shocks fans by killing off original major character
- Read more: Did Selena Gomez make a dig at Justin Bieber in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place?
Meet the cast of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place
Why is Max not in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place?
Taking to Instagram stories on August 6th, Jake wrote: "To all the Wizards fans, just wanted to say for the record how disappointed I am to have not been included in the spinoff. I was asked back in 2020 if I was interested in reprising my role and said that I was 100% in."
As for why he didn't end up in the show, Jake said: "Unfortunately, the powers that be decided to take the show in a different direction and my character wasn't part of the equation."
In other words, Jake was never invited to be part of the reboot as a cast member or a guest star once the story was finalised. In the show, it's revealed that Max became a billionaire by turning the family sub shop into a franchise.
By contrast, Jennifer Stone (Harper) and Maria Canals-Barrera (Theresa), David DeLuise (Jerry) and Greg Sulkin (Mason) all had cameos in the reboot.
However, Jake also said in his statement that he has nothing but love for his co-stars. He said: "Even though I wasn't involved, I still have nothing but love for my former castmates and wish them continued success."
He ended by writing: "Thank you to all the fans who watched over the years. The show wouldn't be what it is without your endless support".
What do you think? Would you have liked to see Max in the reboot?
Read more about Wizards of Waverly Place here:
- Wizards of Waverly Place fans think David Henrie just shaded Dan Benson's career in viral video
- Wizards Beyond Waverly Place criticised for "replacing" Jennifer Stone with Harper lookalike
- Wizards Beyond Waverly Place creators defend lack of original characters in reboot
- Jennifer Stone reveals Selena Gomez declined a Wizards of Waverly Place spin-off
- Former Wizards of Waverly Place cast react to not knowing about sequel series
