‘Once Upon a Time’ season 4 spoilers: How Cruella de Vil, Ursula, Maleficent change the pattern

When you see “Once Upon a Time” return to ABC come Sunday, March 1, you will see a show that is both similar and different. While you will have many familiar faces, they will not be alone. Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, and Ursula’s arrival is going to change things dramatically, and not just for the characters. It will also bring a new vantage point to the show.

The reality here is that we’ve come to expect a formula from the series: A villain arises who ultimately just wants to be loved, and also has some sort of secret familial tie to one of the other characters. With Peter Pan and Zelena, it was Rumpelstiltskin and Regina; with the Snow Queen, it was with Anna and Elsa.

While it seems like these Queens of Darkness will be connected to our characters in some ways, this does not necessarily mean that they will have the same history or bond with them as villains past did. Not only that, but this time you’re getting three adversaries rather than one! Speaking about this to Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Adam Horowitz passed along the following message:

“We certainly don’t want to repeat ourselves. What we want to do is hopefully tell new stories for our characters. These villains were very interesting to us, not just because of who they were as villains, but because of the possibilities we saw of how they could connect to our characters and what they could reveal about our characters. What does their arrival mean for Regina? What does their arrival mean for Emma? What does it mean for Snow and Charming? We have some answers to those questions and we’re very excited about it.”

These three villains should be forces to be reckoned with, and given their status in Disney / fairy tale lore, it’s easy to be excited. Now, we just have to beg to not have one of them be Belle’s secret second cousin or something.

Horowitz posted a new script tease for the March 1 return over at this link, so be sure to check that out! Also, sign up now to get some further scoop on everything we cover via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)