Remember how ABC was going to do a Once Upon a Time spinoff about the Mad Hatter without original actor Sebastian Stan, because he’s all busy being Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and stuff? Well, never mind: Showrunner Edward Kitsis must’ve realized how bad an idea recasting Stan would be, because he’s said they’re not doing it.
Speaking at the Once Upon a Time panel at PaleyFest, Kitsis commented that “We have no plans to recast anyone,” presumably in response to a question about the rumored spinoff, because he went on to note that Stan is “a very busy man” and “I don’t know when he will be making his way toward us [on Once Upon a Time].”
So… are they going to wait for Stan to be available to do the spinoff? IMDB doesn’t list any projects for him post-The Winter Soldier, but that could change. Or might the spinoff just have been a pie-in-the-sky idea in the first place? Does Kitsis have access to a magic hat so he can go into an alternate world where Stan has all the time in the world to reprise his Mad Hatter role? I’m confused as to how this can all come together.
And now for my two cents: The Mad Hatter was one of my favorite characters on OUAT until he stopped showing up (kind of a trend for this show: The Mad Hatter, Graham, Mulan, Aurora, Dr. Whale, August, awesome!Belle as opposed to weaksauce!Belle—why are you underutilizing your best characters?!). Stan didn’t have a heck of a lot to work with, but he turned his limited screen time into one of the show’s most memorable characters, and I absolutely want him to have a show of his own. If it’s not Stan, I’m not interested. So I’m happy that Kitsis seems to feel the same, even if that might mean we don’t get a Mad Hatter spinoff at all.
Your thoughts?
(via: Digital Spy)
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