Selena Gomez is heading back to Waverly Place. The actress and pop sensation is set to reprise her fan-favourite role of Alex Russo in Season 2 of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, the spin-off of the Disney Channel hit Wizards of Waverly Place that catapulted Gomez into global stardom.

Gomez, who also executive produces the series, made a brief but memorable appearance in the first season of the spin-off, which premiered in October last year. She featured in two of the season’s 21 episodes.

The original series, which ran from 2007 to 2012, followed the magical misadventures of the Russo siblings — Alex (Gomez), Justin (David Henrie) and Max (Jake T. Austin) — who trained in wizardry while competing to retain their powers into adulthood.

In the new chapter, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, Alex re-enters the frame by reaching out to her brother Justin to ask whether teenage wizard Billie (Janice LeAnn Brown) can move in with him and his family to train in magic.

A synopsis for the new season reads: “Billie grapples with the fact that being part of the Russo family might be more complicated than she thought — especially now that she’s not the only wizard in the house. Thanks to Roman (Alkaio Thiele) and Milo’s (Max Matenko) new magical powers, Justin is now tasked with training three young wizards for the Family Wizard Competition. As the stakes rise inside and outside the family, a mysterious new threat emerges — one that could unravel the Russos forever.”

Teasing her return on Instagram, Gomez posted a behind-the-scenes snap of her with Henrie, with the caption, “We want to do this foreva… Luv u brudder”.

Apart from Gomez and Henrie, the list of executive producers includes series writers Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas, along with Gary Marsh and Jonas Agin. The show was created by Todd Greenwald, the mind behind the original Wizards of Waverly Place.