It’s almost time to be reunited with some Pacific Coast Academy alumni in the upcoming Paramount+ original movie Zoey 102. While Jamie Lynn Spears will obviously be returning alongside faces both old and new, not everyone will be coming back from the O.G. series. At a recent cocktail party for the film, Spears even referenced missing Zoey 101 cast members in a post, despite some controversy surrounding her and former co-star Alexa Nikolas. Though one cast member that did go to the cocktail party was Victoria Justice, and now she’s opening up about why she wasn’t in the movie and if Lola Martinez will ever make a return.
The Zoey 101 sequel movie was first announced in January along with its returning cast. One of the more notable absences from the cast list was Victoria Justice, who portrayed aspiring actress Lola Martinez beginning in the second season. Justice previously took part in the mini Zoey 101 reunion in 2019 with co-stars Paul Butcher, Erin Sanders, Chris Massey, Sean Flynn, and Matthew Underwood, as documented on Massey’s Instagram, but she was nowhere in sight for Zoey 102. At least she has a good reason.
In an interview with OK! Magazine, the Victorious actress revealed the reason why Lola wasn’t able to go to Logan and Quinn’s highly-anticipated wedding in Zoey 102, admitting that the scheduling was difficult:
I would have loved to be there, but there were scheduling conflicts. I was signed on to do a movie, and the dates conflicted. It was a whole thing. I love that cast so much, and being on Zoey 101 was the start of my career in a lot of ways. Zoey 101 will always have a special place in my heart, and Lola will always have a special place in my heart! I’m wishing everyone the best. I am excited to cheer them on, and I am excited to see the movie.
It’s unfortunate that Victoria Justice won't be seen when the movie hits the 2023 TV schedule, especially since it sounds like she still has a lot of love for the Nickelodeon series that aired from 2005-2008. It would have been entertaining to find out what Lola is doing now and if she ever was able to make her mark in acting. Hopefully, her name is brought up in Zoey 102 as a subtle way to still update fans on what she’s been doing since graduating from PCA.
While Justice couldn’t be in Zoey 102, that didn’t stop her from still reuniting with some of her co-stars. There was a cocktail party that was held to celebrate the movie, and Justice said that it was “so great to see Jamie Lynn and Erin the other night” and noted that she was happy to be there and support them, even if not everyone could make it out. She does hope to fully reunite with the cast someday, and when it comes to a potential return as Lola, don’t count it out just yet:
I am always open! You never know. There’s nothing in the works right now, but I would never say never to anything.
Even though it’s been 15 years since Zoey 101 came to an end in the midst of Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy, it’s clear that the show is still very near and dear to Victoria Justice’s heart. As of now, there’s no indication that anything else is planned for Zoey 101 beyond Zoey 102, but it’s always possible that PCA could re-open its doors in some way.
In the meantime, be sure to sign up for a Paramount+ subscription to watch all four seasons of Zoey 101, as well as Zoey 102, which premieres on Thursday, July 27.
