‘Once Upon a Time’ season 4 spoilers: Is Dr. Whale in series’ immediate future?

While “Once Upon a Time” is one of those shows that does routinely pull in new characters (with the “Frozen” crew being some of the most-notable new ones), they are also a show that tends to leave people out from time to time when the story isn’t in their immediate future.

Some good examples of that right now include Ruby, Aurora, and Mulan, given that Meghan Ory, Sarah Bolger, and Jamie Chung are not regulars on other shows right now, and could in theory appear here. Another one is a personal favorite in David Anders as Dr. Whale. For a brief span of time in season 2, it looked like a romance was in order for Red and the man otherwise known as Dr. Frankenstein, but nothing ultimately came of it as the show moved in a different direction.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like Anders will be around at any point in the near future. As co-creator Edward Kitsis tells TVLine, the issue is more story-related than having a hard time getting Anders (who is a regular on “iZombie,” also filmed in Vancouver) to appear:

“We would love to drag [David] across town, as [iZombie executive producer] Rob [Thomas] is an old friend of ours … But he’s not in the first batch [of Season 4 episodes].”

While we’re just speculating here, we feel like the second half of this coming season will produce better opportunities to actually see these familiar recurring characters. The “Frozen” arc will be over, and they may be able to focus in more on familiar faces.

If you do want to get some further news right now when it comes to “Once Upon a Time” season 4, then be sure to head over to the link here. Also, you can sign up now to get some further TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: ABC