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  2. Why isn't Zeke in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place? Dan Benson has answered the question himself
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Why isn't Zeke in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place? Dan Benson has answered the question himself

written by Monica Morrison
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Why isn't Zeke in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place? Dan Benson has answered the question himself
Image credit: Google Veo 3

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place brought back David Henrie's Justin Russo, Selena Gomez's Alex, and eventually Jennifer Stone's Harper and Gregg Sulkin's Mason. Zeke Beakerman — Justin's best friend across all four seasons of the original — never turned up.

Dan Benson didn't wait for anyone to explain it. He explained it first.

Here's what really happened

Benson wasn't asked back, and he says the reason is his career: he left acting to work full-time as an adult content creator on OnlyFans. He said as much to TMZ in January 2024, months before the sequel series had even premiered. Asked directly whether the adult work made it impossible to bring Zeke back, his answer was one word: yes.

"That's all on me. I totally get it," Benson told TMZ in January 2024.

He described a mix of emotions — happy for fans getting the reunion, aware he'd traded his shot at it. In a TikTok posted around the same time, he connected the career switch to money, arguing that cable and streaming residuals from a Disney Channel run don't add up to a living.

Then it got frostier

  • October 2024 — Benson posted criticism of the premiere; he later said Henrie blocked him on X.
  • October 31, 2024 — He defended the hosts of the Wizards of Waverly Pod and noted that David DeLuise and Jennifer Stone hadn't been invited to the premiere either.
  • August 2026 — After the finale, he wrote on X that the revival had become "the failed David Henrie show," adding that people call him bitter but he's just disappointed for fans.

Stone, who showed up as Harper only in the final episodes, told Us Weekly on August 4, 2026 that she had already mourned not being part of the reboot after a conversation with Henrie.

How the show ended

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place ran a 21-episode first season and a 10-episode second season, then closed with a four-part finale event, "One Last Spell," on Disney Channel on August 4, 2026 and Disney+ on August 5. Sulkin returned as Mason. Zeke did not.

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