Is Selena Gomez’s Alex Russo Dead? Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’s S2 Twist Explained

WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’s season 2 finale!

It’s a sad week for those who grew up on Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney. After becoming one of Disney Channel’s most popular TV shows throughout the late ‘00s and early ‘10s, launching a few movies, and skyrocketing star Selena Gomez into fame, Wizards of Waverly Place was finally rebooted by Disney in 2024 for a new generation.

The cast of characters in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is centered around David Henrie’s original character Justin Russo, the older wizard brother of Alex (Gomez) and Max (Jake T. Austin), who is now a magicless father of two tasked with training a young wizard, Billie. As expected, the reboot has brought back some familiar faces alongside Henrie, including Russo family actors Gomez, Maria Canals-Barrera, and David Deluise.

However, it wasn’t expected that those exciting returns would come with a tragic twist of fate for Wizards of Waverly Place’s most iconic original character. In Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’s season 2 finale on October 8, Selena Gomez’s anticipated cameo culminated in what appears to be the shocking death of franchise icon Alex Russo.

Alex Russo’s Apparent Death In Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’s Season 2 Finale Explained

In Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’s season 2 finale, Alex returns amid a battle with the sinister wizard Lord Morsus, which leads to Selena Gomez’s TV character regaining lost memories. That includes recalling that Billie is actually her daughter, and that Alex used the Cerebellum Erasus spell to erase the memories of herself, Billie, and Justin in order to protect Billie’s grandfather, Morsus.

Meanwhile, Morsus has used Billie’s powers to open a portal to the realm of dark magic, which can only be sealed from the other side. To save her daughter and family, Alex sacrifices herself by throwing herself and Morsus through the portal to finally shut it. Wizards Beyond Waverly Place season 2 ends with Justin and the Russo family mourning Alex, but that may not be the end of her story.

From what we see in the finale, it looks like Alex Russo is dead, with there seemingly being no way to return after closing the portal. However, Justin promises that they’ll find Alex someday, maintaining hope that they haven’t lost her forever.

It’s still unclear whether Alex is alive and simply stuck in the dark magic realm or dead after being shut in the portal, but there’s always the potential for the Russos’ magic to somehow resurrect or undo Alex’s fate. Considering the series had just dropped the bomb about Selena Gomez’s Wizards character secretly being Billie’s mother, it seems unlikely that the Disney icon will stay dead for good.

Why Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Seemingly Killed Off Selena Gomez’s Character After So Many Years

Other recent classic Disney Channel show revivals like Raven’s Home returned without killing off the biggest original character, so why did Wizards Beyond Waverly Place make such a bold decision? While killing off Selena Gomez’s beloved Wizards character is a surefire way to increase buzz and interest around the reboot, the twist still fits thematically with the series’ themes and history.

While Alex faced criticisms of being self-centered in her teen years, she proved time and again that the opposite was true. Alex would choose her family and loved ones over herself in any dire situation, such as when she sacrificed becoming the family wizard to help free Justin from magical vines in the original Wizards of Waverly Place finale. Or, how Alex opted to give up her powers to save her family in the 2013 movie.

Given Alex’s history of always choosing her family over herself when it matters most, there was no version of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place season 2’s finale in which she didn’t choose her daughter over her own life.

By seemingly killing off Alex, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place also raises the stakes further than the franchise has ever dared to before ahead of season 3. Original characters, new characters, and fan-favorites are no longer safe. The threats are heating up for the Russos, and there’s no bolder way to establish that than to kill off one of Disney Channel’s most iconic characters.

Could Selena Gomez Still Return As Alex In Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’s Future?

While it’s possible that Alex’s apparent death was a way to avoid a demand for Selena Gomez to have a larger role in the reboot, it’s all but confirmed that this isn’t the last time we’ll see Alex Russo. Rather, Alex’s “death” gives the Russos a core conflict and plot for season 3: to learn the truth about what happened to Alex and bring her back.

In a post on X after Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’s season 2 finale, star David Henrie even hinted that this isn’t the end for Gomez’s iconic role in the Wizards franchise:

“Just so you know, Alex Russo is tougher than you think – and there’s a lot more to come. You’re asking all the right questions. Stay tuned, #WizardsBeyond has got some magical surprises up our sleeves.”

Alex herself even promised Billie that she would find her again when hugging her daughter goodbye, though there’s no indication of how that could happen or if she could truly survive shutting the portal. It seems almost guaranteed that Alex will be back in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place season 3, but I wouldn’t expect to see Selena Gomez herself return until a mid-season or proper season finale.

If Alex does return in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place season 3, then that also opens up the door for more original Wizards of Waverly Place characters to potentially return to grieve alongside Justin and help find ways to bring her back. We’ve seen Theresa and Jerry, but Alex’s fate could now warrant returns of missing characters like Harper or Max.

Source: David Henrie/X