‘Once Upon a Time’ season 3 spoilers: More on Giancarlo Esposito’s return, Belle’s role

When “Once Upon a Time” season 3 premieres on ABC come Sunday, September 23, there is going to be quite a bit of story to cover in a pretty short amount of time. We’re going to have everything from a trip to Neverland to some shocking twists to of course some new characters turning up.

You can click here in case you have not had an opportunity to catch a glimpse just yet at Rose McIver in the new role of Tinker Bell. The story of this particular article, meanwhile, is going to be some characters that you already know rather well. So why not start things off with Giancarlo Esposito. He may still be Gus Fring in our hearts, but he did at least have a memorable part as the Magic Mirror back on the show’s first season, and he is coming back for more now.

Speaking to TVLine, co-creator Adam Horowitz was at least kind enough to offer up some sort of a tease as to what we can expect from his appearance this time around, which feels almost like it is not going to be in the present:

“If the Evil Queen is going to find out that a sleeping curse [on Snow White] was broken, who better to deliver the news?” 

What is interesting about Esposito is that his Sidney Glass is still alive in Storybrooke, and we imagine that he will surface at some point for a larger role. The question as to when probably just depends on his “Revolution” availability.

As for some other interesting news when it comes to the show, Belle is also going to have her role revealed pretty early on this season. Therefore, there is no reason to worry about the role disappearing into Storybrooke and not being very relevant from start to finish.

What do you want to see the role be for each one of these two characters? We want to hear some of your thoughts below! Meanwhile, click here if you’re inclined to see at least a small sampling of new footage courtesy of the first promo.

Photo: ABC