SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Once Upon a Time‘s season five finale, aired May 2016. It also contains minor spoilers for season six, all of which has already been formally announced by ABC. It does not contain any unconfirmed rumors or speculation.
The Evil Queen. Untold stories. Mr. Hyde. And now… yes, even Aladdin. There are high stakes for the sixth season of Once Upon a Time, ABC’s fairytale drama returning September 25.
Among the many exciting announcements made across the entertainment industry at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, the Once cast gave attendees a sneak peek at the opening minutes of the season premiere. Take a look!
Yes, at long last, our favorite Agrabah crew will make their Once debut. This includes Deniz Akdeniz (Graceland) as Aladdin, Oded Fehr (Covert Affairs) as Jafar, and (wait for it…!) Karen David (Galavant‘s Princess Isabella) as Princess Jasmine, Entertainment Weekly reports. Jafar previously appeared in the short-lived spinoff Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, where he was portrayed by Naveen Andrews. Since that show existed in the same universe as Once Upon a Time this is the same Jafar, just played by Fehr.
In past seasons, we learned that, as per Once style, the Evil Queen’s Magic Mirror and an Agrabah genie were actually one in the same, portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito as Sidney Glass. It is unknown if Sidney is assumed to be a different take on the Genie that helped Aladdin in the animated film, or if he is simply a genie. We’ll see as the season progresses if the show plans to tackle that character, unarguably a difficult feat considering Robin Williams’ precedence.
As revealed in the season five finale, a primary villain in season six is the Evil Queen, though not as we might think. Separated from Regina’s current soul, the former version of herself now coexists with Regina. This offers the perfect compromise of the brilliant character acting that Lana Parilla brought to the villainous character in earlier seasons while still maintaining Regina’s intricate development as she strides to better herself. In celebration of the Evil Queen’s return, Comic-Con also revealed a trailer of sorts for season six: a sizzle reel of the Evil Queen’s best (worst?) moments over the years. Though it contains no new footage, the hype is still too real.
And that’s not all! Still roaming about Storybrooke is Mr. Hyde, having just crossed over from the Land of Untold Stories. Though no specifics have been revealed about this realm that we briefly visited in the season five finale (or even if it will have prominence in season six), the concept of characters inhabiting it whose stories haven’t been told yet on the show has tremendous potential. The poster below was distributed to Comic-Con attendees.
Once Upon a Time returns with its season six premiere Sunday, September 25, on ABC.
Aladdin? The Evil Queen? Karen David as another Disney Princess? What are you most excited about for season six of Once Upon a Time?
Edited by: Hannah Wilkes