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.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still catching new records as the Tom Holland-led movie continues its impressive start at the box office.

Sony Pictures announced Thursday that director Destin Daniel Cretton‘s film has landed the highest-grossing first week in domestic box office history. It has surpassed $500 million in North America in its first seven days, becoming the fastest film to reach that half-billion milestone by supplanting Avengers: Endgame, which hit the threshold in eight days after opening in April 2019.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has notched records at a head-spinning pace, which includes scoring the best-ever domestic box office sums for a Monday and a Tuesday. Brand New Day became the second-fastest feature to cross the billion-dollar mark globally when Sony announced Tuesday morning that it reached the threshold in six days, bested only by Endgame.

Over the weekend, Brand New Day was in a neck-and-neck battle with Endgame for the biggest domestic opening weekend ever. On Monday morning, Sony confirmed that Spidey had indeed prevailed to claim the crown with $360 million, surpassing Endgame’s $357.1 million domestic start, although the latter’s $1.2 billion global launch still held the record for its worldwide opening weekend. 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day also set records for the biggest Thursday previews and top Friday domestic sum, along with giving Sony its best-ever opening weekend. Hailing from producers Marvel Studios and Amy Pascal, it carries a $225 million production budget.

Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo also star in the new movie from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Cretton. It sees Marvel Comics’ signature hero enduring a lonely existence without his loved ones before an invisible enemy tracks him down.

During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman noted that audience interest in stars Holland and Zendaya does not appear to be a passing trend.

“They’re not popular because they’re popular,” the exec emphasized. “They’re popular because they’re talented, and they deserve their popularity. They’re lovely, decent, grounded, good-valued people, and they work really hard. So they’ve earned every ounce of their success.”

Sony projects that Brand New Day will continue attracting audiences in the coming weeks as the summer starts winding down. Its second weekend will encounter fresh competition from such wide releases as One Night Only, Super Troopers 3 and Ice Cream Man.