Danielle Fishel on Pivotal ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ Episode and Her Directing Shift

[This story contains spoilers from Wizards Beyond Waverly Place season one, episode 11, “Potions Eleven.”]

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place fans finally got an answer to what actually happened during the “Unicorn Accident” at WizTech.

In the pilot episode of the Wizards of Waverly Place sequel series, it was revealed that David Henrie‘s Justin Russo was fired as the headmaster at the wizarding school due to the mysterious accident, which is no longer a mystery.

The latest episode of the Disney+ series saw Billie (Janice Leann Brown) using a potion to enter Justin’s mind and discovering that Justin’s underling, who eventually took over as headmaster when the eldest Russo was fired, sabotaged him. On graduation day, Justin had planned a surprise for the students that involved unicorns and fireworks, which backfired when the fireworks went off too early and spooked the unicorns. When Justin tried to use his wand to stop the herd from stampeding on students, it wouldn’t work. Billie then learned that his colleague had jinxed his wand.

The episode marked a “pivotal” moment for Justin, according to Danielle Fishel, who directed the episode, one of several she helms on the season. Up until learning that he had been sabotaged, he doubted his skills as a wizard, even going as far as hanging up his wand and leaving magic behind. Now that he knows it wasn’t his fault, the wizarding world is, once again, his oyster.

Throughout the episode, Wizards of Waverly Place fans were hit with a pang of nostalgia as clips from the original series played inside Justin’s mind. Co-showrunners Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas chose which scenes included in the flashbacks. “My number one goal was, ‘If you knew nothing about the story from before, are you going to enjoy this episode?’ And I think there’s no doubt you will absolutely enjoy this episode,” Fishel tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Also the revelation in it is big news, whether you know the old storyline or you don’t.”

Below, Fishel opens up about working with Henrie as an executive producer, how Inside Out inspired the switchboard in Justin’s mind, Sabrina Carpenter’s skyrocketing success a decade after working together on Girl Meets World and more.

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This was a pivotal Wizards episode for Justin (David Henrie). How did you approach directing it?

It’s definitely a pivotal episode for Justin, and I love that this show has found that really great balance of paying homage to the previous show and yet really letting the young actors on this current show shine, and developing them and showing it’s not just all about the old show. It’s a brand-new show. I thought this episode is the perfect way of doing that. There was the right amount of flashbacks, but if you hadn’t seen the original episodes, you wouldn’t be totally lost. That was my number one goal: “If you knew nothing about the story from before, are you going to enjoy this episode?” I think there’s no doubt you will. And also the revelation in it is big news, whether you know the old storyline or you don’t.

You mentioned the flashbacks. How did you all go about deciding which clips to show of younger Justin?

That was mostly [showrunners] Jed [Elinoff] and Scott [Thomas] and the network. Disney and Jed and Scott really looked back through previous episodes and found the scenes they wanted to use, and then they sent them to me so that we could do our specific timing and know exactly what had just happened and how we were going to work it into to the show. That can be kind of tricky, because you have to allow the right amount of time for everything. You also want actors who can’t see it — we don’t get to see it while we’re shooting it — so they have to imagine/remember: “This is the scene where this just happened … you should be thinking this.” The kids really enjoy watching the old episodes and getting to see David Henrie as a young kid. They were thrilled to watch the old episode and know they were helping bring to life the continuation of the story.

Had you directed in front of a live studio audience before?

I have. Girl Meets World was in front of a live studio audience, and Raven’s Home was in front of a live studio audience. Then, obviously, all seven years I was on Boy Meets World, I was an actor in front of a live studio audience. Live studio audiences are very fun and very comfortable for me; the actors get such a large jolt of energy. It just brings a show to life.

As an audience member viewing the show, it was so interesting to go inside Justin’s mind. What was it like directing those scenes?

It was really cute to see what specific elements of Justin’s personality they were going to highlight. I think the vacuum wall is one of my favorites.

There was a little bit of an Inside Out-esque vibe in the mind’s switchboard. Was that intentional?

It was. It was part of the inspiration for the set deck, which. I saw the plans before I was actually ever on set; they sent me the drawing of what the set was going to look like, and it looked so futuristic and so cool, I couldn’t really even fathom what this was going to look like. So when I showed up on set and saw it, it was so beautiful. It was also a tricky set, because it had to be kind of deep, and there’s a lot of action that takes place in it. So we needed to be able to have places for people to move; there’s the sliding wall, and so it was a little bit difficult to shoot in, but it was a really fun set.

So you had an idea of how you wanted the scene of Justin’s life and the kids in his mind to pan out.

Yes. During rehearsals, like when the kids were in his mind, and then something was happening in the schoolroom set for our run-throughs — which is when we put on the show like a play for the writers and the producers — we would put the kids off to the side in whatever set David Henrie was in. So people didn’t have to run to the other set. They could just imagine they were in that set, and it helped with the timing, and it helped with the comedy.

What were the conversations behind the scenes about the episode, and what you all wanted to accomplish with it?

One of the things we really wanted to accomplish, that I think this show does so well, is making sure that the fans of the original show feel like they’re seeing their favorite stories and moments from the previous show be continued on and at the same time making sure new fans of the show are highly entertained and don’t feel like they’ve missed part one somehow. I think the show does a really good job of that.

I can’t speak to people who haven’t seen it, because I grew up with Wizards of Waverly Place, but I feel like it comes across like it’s kind of made for anyone who’s coming into it. What was it like working with everyone on set?

It was so great. I had worked with Jed and Scott before on Raven’s Home. So, I was familiar with them. They were familiar with me. They are really collaborative, very funny writers. So if there’s ever a moment that isn’t landing the way they want it to, or one of the actors thinks isn’t working right, they are very quick to jump in and say, “How can we help you? How can we fix this? How can we make this work?” Working with people who are willing to do that, instead of people who dig their heels in and are like, “No, it has to be this way. You make it work. We’re not changing.” From the very top, the mentality on this show is we are all a team. We are all working together. We are here for each other. There’s always a solution, which is a really nice feeling.

Working with David Henrie is incredible. I’d never worked with him before. I knew he was, obviously, an immense talent, but I had never worked with him before, and I had allowed a lot of time for some of the physical comedy in the episode because there was quite a bit of it. Literally, on day one of rehearsal, David Henrie basically did exactly what you ended up seeing on camera. I looked at my clock and I was like, “Well, guys, we’ve got like, 45 extra minutes because we don’t need David to rehearse anymore. He’s got it, so let’s just move on.” So, that was really great; he’s such a great leader. The kids really look up to him. He’s the right mix of professionalism and fun. He’s smart. He’s got ideas. He cares very much. He’s an executive producer on the show, and that’s not just a vanity title. He cares very much about the legacy of the show and it shows.

Selena Gomez is also an executive producer on the show. Did you talk at all with her about directing or anything?

I did not get to talk to her, unfortunately. I know she’s truly incredible and, again, another person who very much cares about this show. She was at that premiere. She spoke so beautifully about what the show means to her, about what Disney Channel means to her, and I know that she has really been involved every step of the way. And so it’s an honor to attach my name to their legacy in any way.

I know you’re directing other episodes throughout the season. What can you tease about them?

My other episode, one of them has a really big family game night, and there’s lots of fun magic and really great costumes and just some laugh-out-loud family Russo moments. Those are some of my favorites.

So you directed episodes of Raven’s Home and you directed some episodes of Girl Meets World. What was it like returning to Disney as a director?

It was really great. I got to direct my first few episodes on Girl Meets World. The thing I love about working with them is they are very hands-on in letting you know that they’re there to support you in any way. Every person I’ve ever worked with at Disney Channel has always made it clear to me, “Our door is always open for you. If there’s ever anything you need to talk about, please come to us.” And there have been things I’ve gone to them about, and they’ve always been responsive and quick and helpful. It really does feel like a family, and they make sure that you know they’re there to support you, and that’s the feeling everyone should have when they go to work — that we’re all on the same team, and we’re all here to support each other. Not everyone is as lucky, but Disney Channel does a really good job of making everyone feel supported.

Both you and Raven-Symoné were directors on Raven’s Home, and now you’re both going to be directing on Wizards. Did you all talk about how you wanted to go about directing the show?

Directors all have their own style and have their own thing they like to bring to the table. Raven is somebody I got to know pretty well on Raven’s Home, and she — not only as an actor, as an executive producer, as a director — she is very intuitive, and she’s been doing this since she was little-little. So she is definitely an expert at what she does, and she brings her flair, and she brings her personality. She’s definitely somebody I look up to.

It looks like you’ve been directing more and acting less over the last few years. Are you looking to pivot at this point in your career to more behind-the-scenes work?

Yeah. When Girl Meets World came about, I had already kind of stopped acting. I wasn’t pursuing acting anymore. I was getting my master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. I was going to be a therapist, and then Girl Meets World kind of pulled me back in. I was like, “Wow, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Then, when I started directing, I realized, “Oh, this is very much what I’m supposed to be doing, being a director, and especially working with young people, really feels like a way of giving back to my young self.”

Once I realized I was supposed to be doing that, I pretty much full-time shifted to directing, and now, since 2018, I’ve directed almost 50 episodes of TV, and I haven’t been focusing on acting at all. Now that’s not to say I wouldn’t. There’s a project I have in development now that I may end up acting in if that makes it to air, but directing is really where my love and my focus and my passion is. I feel my best being able to help young actors and just other actors in general give their best performances, instead of being worried about my own performance.

You mentioned Girl Meets World. Sabrina Carpenter played your daughter’s best friend in the show. How has it been seeing her career blow up the way that it has since then?

It’s been a dream come true. It was also never something I doubted from the moment I met her. Her work ethic, her drive, her personality, her comedic skills, her sensitivity, her ability to communicate, all of the things that she has had since she was a child, everyone is getting to see and experience a little bit of the Sabrina that I’ve known now for over 10 years. She deserves every good thing that comes to her. She’s one of my favorite people on the planet. She’s one of my best friends, and I’m just so thrilled for her.

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New episodes of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place premiere Fridays on Disney Channel.