‘Once Upon a Time’ season 3 spoilers: Robin Hood re-casted; Sarah Bolger returning

There’s very few things that we dislike more in the scripted TV world than re-castings, but unfortunately, sometimes they happen for reasons that are out of anyone’s control. When Tom Ellis debuted as Robin Hood on “Once Upon a Time” season 2, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz likely believed that he would be around later on to do more work if they needed; or, they had no real plans to include the Prince of Thieves for another appearance anytime soon.

Unfortunately, the “Merlin” actor is now officially gone, as he has a variety of other commitments to attend to. So where does that leave the state of Robin now? Why, with a new actor! TVLine reports that Sean Maguire, best known for his roles on “EastEnders” and “Bedlam,” will fill in on the series now for a multi-episode arc as the character. Maguire has at least a slight physical resemblance as Ellis, and the fact that the former actor in the role only appeared in one episode (“Lacey”) likely means that some viewers will hardly even remember that it was a different man.

Maguire’s Robin Hood will have a more sizable story arc, but it is unclear just what that will be given that we never saw the other version of the character anywhere other than in the fairy-tale world that was prior to the curse. Who knows? Maybe he will turn up in Storybrooke and rob from the rich there to give to the poor … then again, in the real world this sort of thievery gets you locked in jail, but since this tiny Maine town doesn’t have the best history of keeping their inmates behind bars, that may not necessarily be the worst thing ever.

In other news Sarah Bolger posted on Twitter that she was flying up to Vancouver, where the show films. Given that Horowitz retweeted this, think of it as all the proof you need that there is more of Aurora in the cards. Rejoice, Sleeping Beauty fans!

In case you want to fill your time with more teasers before the “Once Upon a Time” launch on September 29, watch the video retrospective here. Oh, and remember that Ariel is going to show up. If that’s not a reason to celebrate we don’t know what is.

Photo: ABC