Jennifer Stone's Harper Finkle is one of the few Wizards of Waverly Place series regulars to sit out Disney's 2024 reboot, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
Alex Russo's mortal best friend Harper brought much of the heart to the late 2000s magical series, offering plenty of humor and non-magical joy across every season of Wizards of Waverly Place.
Harper's Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Absence Explained
While Harper Finkle became close with the whole Wizards of Waverly Place cast, her primary relationship in the series was as the best friend to Alex Russo.
However, Alex (played by Selena Gomez) will only have a limited role in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place as a guest star in several episodes.
As Harper's primary connection to the Russo family won't be appearing much in the 2024 reboot, it makes sense for her to sit out the series.
Actress Jennifer Stone addressed a potential reboot on her Wizards of Waverly Place rewatch podcast before the new series was announced, saying "of course" to reprising the role of Harper with the "right story and... timing:"
"The thing is, yes, of course we want to do it. It would be silly not to do some kind of reboot thing, and as far as I know, Selena wants to do it. All of the main cast, from my understanding, for the most part wants to do a reunion. It’s just a matter, and this is what I tell everybody … It’s just a matter of having the right story to tell and timing... So, when we have the right story and the right timing, yes.”
Harper has another obstacle to her return due to her on-screen boyfriend Zeke Beakerman, played by Dan Benson. In the years since Wizards ended, Benson began a career posting NSFW content to his subscribers on OnlyFans.
Due to the explicit nature of Benson's OnlyFans career, Disney is unlikely to associate with him on such a major series. As such, if Harper does return in the future, fans should expect Zeke to be absent.
But just as other Wizards characters such as Jerry, Theresa, and Max Russo will have guest roles in the cast of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, perhaps there may be room for Harper to appear occasionally down the line.
While Harper may be absent from Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, she does have a surrogate character in the series through Winter. Similarly to Harper with Alex, Winter serves as the mortal friend to the rebellious lead of Billie.
Additionally, Winter brings much of the same heart and comedic energy to Wizards, all by being one of the few mortals in on the secret of magic.
The first nine episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place are streaming now on Disney+.
