Selena Gomez to Topline, Executive Produce 'Wizards of Waverly Place' TV Movie
Selena Gomez is headed back to her Disney Channel roots.
The singer-actress will reprise her role as Alex in a new Wizards of Waverly Place television movie, which she also will executive produce. Production on the telepic will begin in October in Los Angeles.
Gomez will be reunited with her Wizards of Waverly Place co-stars Jake T. Austin, Jennifer Stone, Maria Canals-Barrera, David DeLuise and Gregg Sulkin. The telepic will launch on Disney Channel in early 2013.
In the new Wizards of Waverly Place TV movie, the Russo family and friends travel the Tuscany, Italy, to meet their long-lost relatives, but when Alex (Gomez) tries to prove she's more than a seemingly carefree young wizard, she inadvertently conjures a spell that creates a "good" Alex and "evil" Alex. When Alex gets roped into a charming young wizard's foreboding plan to take over the world, "good" Alex must find a way to save her family and humankind, which lea! ds to a battle between the two versions of herself on the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
"With the phenomenal ratings of the Wizards finale earlier this year, it became clear that fans of the series were not ready to say goodbye to Selena or the rest of the 'Wizards' cast," said Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer of Disney Channels Worldwide. "As such, we're thrilled that the cast has agreed to reunite to bring their fans one last grand adventure."
The Wizards of Waverly Place series wrapped Jan. 6 after a four-season run on Disney Channel. The finale was the franchise's most-watched episode, with nearly 10 million viewers tuning in. A telefilm titled Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie aired in August 2009.
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The new TV movie is written by Vince Cheung, Ben Montanio and Dan Berendsen. Gomez, Cheung, Dan Cross and David Hoge are EPs. Victor Gonzalez will direct. Wizards of Waverly Place was created by Todd J. Greenwald.
The Hollywood Reporter reported in July that Gomez will star in the feature film Parental Guidance Suggested.
E-mail: Philiana.Ng@thr.com