"Wizards of Waverly Place" alum Dan Benson knows he's being cut out of the Disney Channel show's upcoming reboot and says it's upsetting, but not shocking ... due to to his very adult career choices.
Dan tells TMZ ... he's disappointed over being unable to reprise the role of Zeke Beakerman, and also acknowledges he didn't really leave the show's bosses any real option to include him -- having gone from child star to OnlyFans porn star.
He totally sees things from their point of view ... telling us it'd be unreasonable to bring back his wholesome character, while he's also publicizing all his risqué personal life decisions.
Dan even imagines how discussions of his return went down in the reboot's first meeting ... wondering if some Disney exec Googled him to see what he's doing, only to learn he's been posting adults-only content since 2022.
BTW, Selena Gomez is an executive producer, which has Dan wondering just how much of his "body" of work his old costar's come across.
While he's sad his career choices affected his chance to be back on screen, he tells us he actually would've said no if the reboot bosses asked him back.
The reason being that life after the show got really hard for him, as he struggled to land another mainstream acting gig.
Now, Dan's over being dependent on someone else for opportunities ... something he doesn't have to worry about now cause he's his own boss and makes it happen for himself.
Yes, he's moved on -- but he's also still nostalgic for 'Waverly.'