Everything the Once Upon a Time Cast Has Said About Season 7

Updated on July 23, 2017 at 11:05 AM

More so than any other year, we're in the dark about what's coming next on Once Upon a Time. Sure, we know that there are a ton of new cast members, Henry is headed to a new realm to find his destiny, and there's a trailer — OK, maybe we do know a lot. But it's all thanks to the cast and creators appearing at Comic-Con on Saturday! Between the show's panel and press interviews, we have a pretty clear picture of what's coming up on season seven. Here's everything we've heard so far.

Lana Parilla teased the Evil Queen's return. "The Evil Queen might live in flashbacks. I don't know how much of the Evil Queen living in the Wish Realm with Robin is going to surface in season seven, but this new Regina is very different than what we've seen in the past."
Andrew J. West is excited for you to watch adult Henry. "He's changed in some very significant ways, and that will be heavily explored in the new season, which is going to be exciting and surprising. . . . There are going to be some surprises, some things that you aren't expecting from the traditional Cinderella story, some big reinventions of that story."
Dania Ramirez, aka Cinderella, agrees that things aren't going to be as you expect. "What you thought the Cinderella story is might be different. She is going to the ball, but why is she going and why is she leaving? Where does the glass slipper fall? And how do these two people meet and what is the journey they're going to take from there?"

Gabrielle Anwar, aka the Evil Stepmother, talked about her character's relationship with her daughter, Drizella. "She and I have a very gnarly interaction. There's just a demand of respect from the mother that is not really reciprocated, which is a tragic situation for any mother/daughter duo."
Creator Edward Kitsis confirmed Henry's family is still important. "Henry is on a new adventure. Henry has left home and he wants to go visit other storybooks with different stories and different characters. He obviously falls in love with Cinderella, much like the romance his grandparents had. What happens, which is what always happens, is he gets into some trouble and he calls out for help from his family. The three people that you see on the stage that you know and love [Regina, Rumple, and Hook] come to his rescue."
He also doesn't want you to think they're forgetting about the previous seasons. "We had a plan for the original show that ran six seasons," said Kitsis. "At a point, we felt like it was time for characters to get their happy endings. What we're going to do now is go on a new adventure. If your real fear is 'Oh my god, are you going to erase the last six years?' we are not, but we are going to take a few new characters and go on a new journey. And we hope you come with us on it."
Kitsis doesn't want to make a big deal out of the LGBTQ storyline. "The way that we're looking at Hyperion Heights in the reboot is that it's to reflect the world we live in. . . . It's going to be no different than Snow and Charming, except it's going to be Snow and Alice, or whatever it becomes, but it becomes no different than a heterosexual relationship we've done before."