Once Upon a Time has proved to be a Sunday night success for ABC as well as showrunners Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, and now it seems like a spinoff may be getting off the ground. The spinoff would be a 13-episode series that would air while Once Upon a Time is on winter hiatus.
It would be nice for OUAT fans to have something to watch during the long weeks when the hit fairytale series is off the air, and ABC’s project really seems to be getting off the ground at this point. While not officially commissioned to series, Deadline is reporting that OUAT consulting producer Jane Espenson has signed on for the project alongside Prison Break’s Zack Estrin and presentation is in the works. The spinoff has been designed to be set in Wonderland—a place fans have briefly seen on Once Upon A Time, but that could very much be explored.
Initial reports indicated that OUAT Mad Hatter (Sebastian Stan) would star in the spinoff, but things seem to have changed and now an Alice lead will be cast. Additionally, the network is looking for talented cast members to play “The Knave” and “Amahl,” although we’ll have to wait and see how those two characters will fit into the plot. Alice in Wonderland has always been a popular story and, in fact, The CW has a modern-day Alice in Wonderland project in the works, as well.
I haven’t been as excited about Once Upon a Time during Season 2, but that doesn’t stop me from being intrigued about a standalone spinoff. We’ll continue to update you as this project adds cast members over at ABC.
