In its Season 5 finale, Once Upon a Time revealed a whole new world called the Land of Untold Stories. It seemed to be a world made up entirely of literary fictional characters, as opposed to the show's usual beat of Disney fairy tales. Viewers with a keen eye could see references to the Three Musketeers, Don Quixote, Gullivers Travels, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Of course, it was also the home to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who will serve as a villain in Season 6. This new move busts the doors wide open for a slew of new characters and stories for the show. It's fun to guess which book characters could appear (I would really dig a Harry Potter reference at the least), but now we now at least two characters who will be making their Once Upon a Time debut.
The Season 5 finale ended with Mr. Hyde arriving in Storybrooke and revealing that he had brought a bunch of friends from the Land of Untold Stories with him. According to TVLine, two of the new arrivals will be Sinbad the Sailor and Scheherezade, the storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights. Whether the two of them know each other or are working for Mr. Hyde isn't stated, but the characters are not traditionally villains. However, Once Upon a Time likes to play it fast and loose with the line between hero and villain, so we'll see how that works out for the two newest additions.
ABC is currently casting both roles and is reportedly looking for a "30 something Middle Eastern/Arabic or Northern African" male to play a roguishly charming hero with a quick wit. Sinbad is described as having an inner kindness but has lost faith in himself and his ability to lead. The name Sinbad might sound familiar, but for those who don't know, he's a legendary sailor of Middle Eastern origins. He's a hero of the seas and has sailed around the world having adventures, meeting monsters, and encountering supernatural forces. It sounds like the Once Upon a Time version will have a confidence problem.
There's a much better chance that you've never heard of Scheherezade. Her origin is also in Middle Eastern stories, specifically One Thousand and One Nights, a massive collection of stories and myths (of which Sinbad is a part of). It's basically the granddaddy of all Middle Eastern stories. Scheherezade is the narrator who is telling the stories to a king in order to prolong him from executing her. It takes 1,001 nights for her to tell all her stories, and the king spares her and takes her as his queen because in that time he's fallen in love with her. The Once Upon a Time version is described as a person who never backs down from a good fight and "can go toe to toe with the toughest adversary." A bit of a departure from the clever storyteller, but we'll see how it plays out.
Once Upon a Time will return for the fall season on ABC. Make sure to keep checking back with CinemaBlend for all your Once Upon a Time updates.
