Jake T. Austin was just as “disappointed” as fans that his “Wizards of Waverly Place” character wasn’t included in the spinoff, revealing he had agreed to return when the idea was first floated.

The actor starred as Max Russo alongside Selena Gomez’s Alex Russo and David Henrie’s Justin Russo throughout all four seasons of the Disney Channel series from 2007 to 2012, but was notably absent from the sequel series, “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” which concluded its three-season run on Tuesday.

And, according to a statement shared by Austin on his Instagram Story Thursday, he was all set to join Gomez and Henrie for the spinoff before the show went “in a different direction.”

“To all the Wizards fans, just wanted to say for the record how disappointed I am to have not been included in the spinoff,” Austin wrote. “I was asked back in 2020 if I was interested in reprising my role and said that I was 100% in.”

He added: “Unfortunately, the powers that be decided to take the show in a different direction and my character wasn’t part of the equation. Even though I wasn’t involved, I still have nothing but love for my former castmates and wish them continued success. Thank you to all the fans who watched over the years. The show wouldn’t be what it is without your endless support.”

Austin is not the first “Wizards” alum to speak out about the spinoff and the number of original stars missing from the finale. David DeLuise, who played the teen wizards’ father and appeared in a handful of episodes of “Beyond Waverly Place,” commented on an Instagram post on Wednesday: “It would not be over if the OG wizards were really there. Missed opportunity.”

The four-part series finale saw the return of Gomez, Jennifer Stone, Gregg Sulkin and Maria Canals-Barrera. Henrie was also involved, which wasn’t surprising since he starred in and executive produced the spinoff.

“Wizards of Waverly Place” Todd J. Greenwald responded to the finale by writing on Substack Tuesday, “I will undo the entire ‘Beyond’ canon in one simple chapter. By simply ignoring it. ‘It was all Max’s dreammmmm.’ Fixed. Moving on.”

Greenwald later clarified that he had no qualms with the show’s stars, adding, “I would also like to make it clear. The actors on the new show are amazing. They’re amazing kids. They have amazing families and they’ve got great futures ahead. It is a blessing that they had this experience and can still be kids and have a great memory to look back on. I would work with any of them any day. This is the sixth tween show I’ve written on and I’ve seen how it affects the kids in different ways. Learning as you go and finding your voice in front of so many people is challenging enough in itself, let alone having to portray a character you know nothing about.”

Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Even if a script isn’t that good, Morgan Freeman said he’ll still say yes if “they’re going to pay you enough.”

During a recent interview with The New York Times, the legendary actor got candid about how he chooses the projects he wants to take on, especially six decades into his career.

“If somebody offers you a job, it’s very nice if they’re offering you also an exciting script, but in reality, two or three things come into play,” Freeman shared. “What are they going to pay you? If they’re going to pay you enough, then you overlook some of the glitches in the script that happen to be there.”

“Sometimes you can mention things that are in the script that don’t quite work out for you and by and large, that gets worked out,” he added.

Freeman already has a long list of accomplishments, most notably his Academy Award win for best supporting actor for Million Dollar Baby, in addition to four other Oscar nominations across his career. He’s also known for his roles in Invictus, The Dark Knight, Se7en and Driving Miss Daisy, among many others.

But even at 89, Freeman has no plans of retiring from the industry or slowing down. “I’m like Clint Eastwood on that: Don’t let the old man in,” he said. “So, keep working. If you can get out of bed and don’t fall down when you do it, then you just count your blessings and keep moving. So, I’ll work as long as I can — as long as somebody says, ‘Do you want to do this part?’”

As for whether he has any other dream roles that he has yet to take on, Freeman quipped, “No. I’m pushing 90 now. So, the roles that I wished I had been able to play, Denzel Washington will play.”

Freeman most recently returned for Lioness season three, which premiered on Paramount+ earlier this week.

A New Mexico judge ordered Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta to pay $567 million, as well as make changes to the way young users use its platforms, in a ruling tied to a child safety case.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled against the tech giant late on Thursday, marking the largest financial penalty Zuckerberg’s company has received while battling legal suits regarding social media addiction and its harm to minors.

Biedscheid’s ruling of $567 million was in addition to the $375 million Meta had been ordered to pay back in March for the same case. At the time, a jury had found that Meta did mislead its users about the safety of its social media platforms, which in turn enabled the sexual exploitation of its young users.

“Although Meta is not alone in this regard, its social media platforms are a significant contributing factor to the current mental health crisis among New Mexico’s youth established by the substantial evidence in this case,” Biedscheid wrote in his ruling, per the New York Times.

In response to the ruling, a Meta spokesperson told the outlet, “We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content.”

The spokesperson added: “We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts.”

More to come…