Curiouser and curiouser!

Once Upon a Time to Finally Introduce Alice in Her Own Wonderland-Set Spinoff?

by Rebecca Pahle | 11:09 am, March 20th, 2013

Last we heard of Once Upon a Time‘s rumored Mad Hatter spinoff, things weren’t looking good: Actor Sebastian Stan is too busy being Bucky Barnes in the Marvelverse to reprise his role, and Once showrunner Eddy Kitsis said they weren’t going to recast him. Oh well. A Wonderland-set Once spinoff could’ve been neat, but—

Wait. They’re still doing one? Just with a different main character?

Oh there you are, Alice! Where’ve you been?

That there will be a spinoff is looking pretty concrete at this point; Kitsis and co-showrunner Adam Horowitz have reportedly brought in Zack Estrin (Charmed, Prison Break) to write and Jane Espenson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica) as a consulting producer, a role she already holds on Once.

But what about Alice? This has yet to be confirmed, but Deadline‘s Nellie Andreeva tells us:

Details about the spinoff are being kept under wraps but I have learned that it takes place in Wonderland. While the original idea was to use Once‘s character of Mad Hatter to transition to the new world, that plan was ultimately dropped. I hear the story will now be told through the point of of view of Alice, who has not appeared on Once, surrounded by several new characters… The spinoff takes place in a post-curse world, though, like on Once, there will be flashbacks, so we could potentially see familiar faces.

Those new characters, according to a casting breakdown Andreeva got her hands on, would include Amahl (“exotic, soulful and optimistic”) and The Knave (“a sardonic adventurer, a man of action, a loner and a heart-breaker”). One of those familiar faces could easily be Regina’s mother Cora, who just so happens to be the Queen of Hearts in the Once universe.

According to Deadline, Kitsis, Horowitz, Estrin, and Espenson will start working on the show in earnest in early April, right after shooting wraps on Once. Again, this is firmly within the city limits of Rumorville, but the spinoff, if it gets picked up to series, might have “13-episode season arcs with a beginning, middle and end, similar to FX’s American Horror Story, possibly bridging the fall and spring portions of Once.”

Interesting. There’s already another Alice-themed show in the works, this one featuring the eponymous hero as a Los Angeles cop. But that one was pushed back by its network, while this one looks to be charging along.

Might you watch?

(via: Deadline)

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http://www.aeryllou.tumblr.com/ Aeryl

Oooh. This might allow them to bring back Barbara Hershey too, as it was revealed that she became the Red Queen in Wonderland, after Regina threw her through a mirror.
http://twitter.com/HoneyvonBuren Andrea Alba

I’m down with any show within the Once universe. I just want OUAT related things to keep coming. Besides, I’m convinced Hatter’s wife was Alice, so I can’t wait to see how everything develops (because Sebastian Stan won’t be filming The Winter Soldier forever and he’ll have to appear! yes?).
Anonymous

I ask this with all due respect to those who like Once…why? I seriously tried to get into it, and just can’t! For the life of me I cannot get into this show! It’s just so…hokey to me, and I think the acting is terrible (with a few exceptions). Am I missing something here? Now there is going to be ANOTHER one? ABC promotes the hell out of this show. Commercials, magazines, online…it’s EVERYWHERE and that makes me sad when I think about how they didn’t do this for Pushing Daisies, which I found to be far more creative and enjoyable. Again, I’m not dissing viewers that enjoy it, I’m just wondering if there isn’t something I’m not seeing?
Rebecca Pahle

I watch it, but that’s because I need a show that I don’t have to pay much attention to so that I can knit when I’m tuned in. I don’t think it’s that good a show, personally. But I’d be interested to hear what other people have to say.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=10049645 Katie Frederick

I for one really love this show because it has so many female characters who all display a great degree of strength, if in different ways depending on the character. I really enjoy watching how they have adapted all the various fairy tales and classic stories, and intermingle them so that all the characters exist in this one universe. I find some of them really clever, Little Red Riding Hood being one of my favorites for example.

I can accept that it isn’t the show for everyone, because yeah it can get a bit cheesy, and not every fairy tale retelling works imo. But I guess I came into this show with a certain degree of expectation, just looking for a fun, colorful story that works as an updated bedtime story. The character can be over the top, but in the context I find it works because they essentially are fictional characters come to life. I accept that they come from a world with different rules, where True Love is real, Magic always comes with a price, and Good always wins over Evil. It’s like watching a Disney movie (since that is what the show basically is, really). The story-telling is generally simple and a bit nostalgic, with some fun twists along the way, so I’m not looking for that degree of nuance you might find in a cable-channel drama.

As for acting, I dunno, I find different people have different standards for what constitutes good acting. I won’t claim everyone in the show is great all the time, but I don’t find that anyone is horrible either.
http://twitter.com/HoneyvonBuren Andrea Alba

I agree with wholeheartdly. I love fairytales and I’m a cheesy person myself, so it’s hard for me to find the show cheesy, but you’re right, to enjoy the show one has to accept the kind of universe the fairytale world is. You have to be able to enjoy the Disney references they throw very often (which I love). But what I love the most about Once Upon a Time is how it takes its time to develop the characters, to show us their stories, to make us sympathize with them and understand why they are the way they are. It personally keeps me on the edge of my seat because every episode they reveal something new and it gives the story and plot a new perspective and I’ve had the chance to discuss the characters with many of my friends because they give me things to think about, they make me question my morals, etc etc. I feel like they’re very real, and that the story is just really well-written and the storytelling technique they use is fantastic to my eyes. I’m always excited to see how they adapt the characters to their universe or surprises such as Wonderland or even Dr. Frankenstein. And, like Katie said, the female characters are GREAT, there’s an awesome balance gender-wise in the cast. I’ve also noticed how consistent the story is and how even several episodes later they can make a reference to something that maybe the audience didn’t remember (Rumple using Cinderella’s godmother’s wand, for example) It’s not a show for everyone, I guess. It works for me because I am a huge Disney and fantastic setting fan, so OUAT has been perfect for my taste since the beginning. It also appeals the writer in me.

I don’t think the acting’s terrible at all. Maybe Henry is not such a good actor, but Snow, Charming, Rumple, Regina, Emma, Ruby… they seem good actors to me. But that can be subjective at times, so…
Anonymous

The thing I like best about it is that it’s pretty PG, so my kids can watch it too. It’s cheesy, yeah, but it’s *really* good compared to other ‘family’ shows.
Anonymous

I can see how you would feel that way. Especially with what I’ve seen on ABC “Family”. They get into some pretty racy stuff for a family friendly channel. Teen aged love scenes??? My b/f likes some of their shows, and I’m usually surprised when they break and I realize he’s not watching something on FOX of the CW!
Rachel Smith

I am so excited to see this version of Wonderland, and I can’t
wait to meet Alice. I know that this is one show that I can’t miss, so I am
glad that I won’t risk it with my DISH Hopper. Working late at DISH, I really
love that my DVR records primetime shows on the four major networks. With the
amount of things I watch I never worry about time overlaps, which is especially
great with Wonderland coming.
http://twitter.com/Miranda_Millar Miranda Millar

I am a die-hard fantasy fan and a big fan of OUAT. I see how you can see it as hokey, and this is what I think: Did you ever read fairytales as a child? They’re pretty much the epitome of hokeyness and cheese fests. But that’s why we love them, because they’re romantic and idealistic and transport you back to being a child with somewhat ignorant views on the world and big dreams.
There is a realism lacking in the performances which some people see as “bad acting,” but I would call it stylized. How can you act out characters from fairy tales and NOT make them wide-eyed, innocent, romantics? If you re-watch the show with this in mind, you may find it more bearable, if not enjoyable; a live-action fairy tale.
http://www.facebook.com/hollydollykins Holly Anne

I like this. Anything they can pare off of Once so that it can go more in-depth on other stuff is fine with me. OUaT has the brilliant problem of having way too much good stuff, so the show tends to drop some stuff (Mulan & Aurora, Whale, etc).

But the long-awaited return of August Booth is COMING. Ahhhh. Guess I can’t complain too much right now. :)
Anonymous

It’s pure cheese. Cheese to the eyeballs. Cheese sticking to the walls. Cheese everywhere.

I love the cheese. Early episodes didn’t embrace the cheese as much, and suffered for it.

Pushing Daises was better, and I love it–but this show has its own cheesey, hokey place.