‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ to end with final four-part event, Selena Gomez to make directorial debut
Selena Gomez and David Henrie on the ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ set. (Disney/Eric McCandless)
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is ready to cast one last spell.
Disney+ and Disney Channel have announced that the Wizards of Waverly Place spinoff series will return for its final chapter this summer. Production on the new episodes starts next week.
Selena Gomez will make her directorial debut as she helms the premiere episode of this final chapter in the Russo family’s story. In addition to directing, Gomez will reprise her role of Alex Russo over the course of multiple episodes and continue executive producing.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place stars David Henrie as Justin Russo and Janice LeAnn Brown as the young wizard Billie. Alkaio Thiele, Max Matenko, Taylor Cora and Mimi Gianopulos also make up the main cast.
This final chapter of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is being billed as a special four-part event.
“Billie, still reeling from losing Alex at the end of season 2, discovers that the only way to rescue her mother is to reunite with her long-lost father,” according to an official description from Disney. “As her family bands together to find Alex, Billie realizes that their combined power is the only way the Russos can defeat the evil plaguing them.”
Disney Channel released a teaser for the new episodes on Thursday. The video features a moment from the emotional ending of season 2, with Billie and Alex embracing each other.
“Hold on tight for some news,” the video says, before announcing the upcoming new and final episodes.
: Actor Chuck Norris arrives at Lionsgate Films’ ‘The Expendables 2’ premiere on August 15, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Actor Chuck Norris, the martial artist known for a string of hit action movies and the series Walker, Texas Ranger, has died, according to his family. He was 86.
“It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning,” Norris’ family said Friday in a statement shared on his Instagram page. “While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.”
The family said Norris was “a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an incredible brother, and the heart of our family.”
“While our hearts are broken, we are deeply grateful for the life he lived and for the unforgettable moments we were blessed to share with him,” the family statement continued. “The love and support he received from fans around the world meant so much to him, and our family is truly thankful for it. To him, you were not just fans, you were his friends.”
Norris’ family said the actor had been recently hospitalized but did not share further details on his condition.
The actor turned 86 on March 10, just days before his death. He shared a video of himself boxing on his birthday, saying in the video, “I don’t age. I level up.”
Norris, born Carlos Ray Norris, was born in Oklahoma but spent much of his childhood in California. He learned karate while serving in the U.S. Air Force in South Korea, with the hopes of becoming a police officer after his service, he told The New York Times in a 1985 interview.
When he returned to Southern California after his military service, he instead opened a chain of karate schools.
It was through teaching karate that Norris was introduced to acting when he instructed the late Steve McQueen and McQueen’s son, he told the Times.
“He told me that I should think about projecting a presence, and never do a part that had a lot of dialogue,” Norris said of McQueen’s advice. “He told me, ‘Movies are visual, and when you try to verbalize something, you’re going to lose the audience.’ He said to let the character actors lay out the plot, and that when there were important things to say, you say it, and people will remember.”
From that fateful meeting with McQueen, Norris went on to have an acting career that spanned several decades and featured starring roles in blockbuster action movies including The Way of the Dragon, Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing in Action, The Delta Force and Invasion U.S.A.
In the 1990s, Norris became a television star with the series Walker, Texas Ranger, which he both starred in and executive produced.
In addition to acting, Norris was an author, including of his 2004 autobiography, Against All Odds: My Story.
Offscreen, Norris also entered the political arena, endorsing and campaigning for several conservative candidates over the years.
In his later years, Norris reached unexpected online fame when jokes known as “Chuck Norris Facts” went viral online, touting Norris’ seeming invincibility with lines like, “Chuck Norris doesn’t sleep. He waits.”
Norris revealed his personal favorite in 2008, telling Extra, “My favorite is that they wanted to put Chuck Norris on Mount Rushmore, but the granite wasn’t tough enough for his beard.”
Norris capitalized on his online fame, growing a social media following of nearly 3 million followers on Instagram, where he continued to post everything from his workouts to life advice until the time of his death.
Norris is survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Gena O’Kelly, with whom he shared two children, twins Dakota Norris and Danilee Norris.
Norris is also survived by three other adult children, two sons, Eric Norris and Mike Norris, and a daughter, Dina Norris.
Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in the upcoming film ‘Michael.’ (Lionsgate)
It seems progress is being made on a sequel to the Michael Jackson biopic Michael.
Lionsgate Studios Motion Picture Chair Adam Fogelson said he’s “really excited about the progress we’re making” on a sequel to Michael during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday.
“All the conversations that we’ve been having with all of the appropriate parties continue to go exceptionally well, and I would say that there is a ton of incredibly entertaining Michael Jackson story, and much of the biggest and most popular parts of his music catalog that were not touched upon in the first film,” Fogelson said on the call.
As for what events from Jackson’s life would be covered in a potential second film, Fogelson said the studio “can go forwards and backwards in telling this story.”
“There are so many other events that happened, even in the time frame of the original movie, that weren’t touched upon. So we’re very, very confident that we’ve got an incredibly entertaining movie that will appeal once again to a global audience as the pieces come together,” Fogelson said.
The Lionsgate executive also said the studio has “25% to 30% of a second movie already shot from the prior production activity.”
“Obviously that will have some benefit ultimately. But we’ll make sure we make a big and satisfying movie for a global audience once again, so I wouldn’t want to quantify exactly what that’s going to look like. But undoubtedly that 25% to 30% will be material,” Fogelson said.
Michael opened in theaters on April 24. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film starred the King of Pop’s nephew Jaafar Jackson and also featured Colman Domingo, Miles Teller and Nia Long.
Will Ferrell’s upcoming golf comedy series now has a title, release window and teaser video. Netflix has announced that the series is titled The Hawk. It will debut to the streamer in summer 2026. The Hawk follows a golf legend named Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins who’s attempting to get back onto the PGA Tour for one more go-around …
We now know when the animated series Rick and Morty will return with its ninth season on Adult Swim. The show will premiere season 9 on May 24. Its official logline reads, “Rick and Morty is back, baby! Season Nine is all certified bangers. No AI slop! Just Grade A organic slop, made by real humans with real human traits like back hair and cysts. Please watch, or we’ll have neglected our families for nothing.” …
Barbra Streisand is going to be honored with an honorary Palme d’or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival. The actress, director, producer and singer will be awarded with the honor during the festival’s awards ceremony on May 23. “It is with a sense of pride and deep humility, that I’m honored to join the company of past Honorary Palme d’or recipients whose work has long inspired me,” Streisand said in a press release. “In these challenging times, movies have the ability to open our hearts and minds to stories that reflect our shared humanity, and to perspectives that remind us of both our fragility and our resilience. Cinema transcends borders and politics, and affirms the power of imagination to shape a more compassionate world.” …
