D23 Expo: ‘Once Upon a Time’ season 3 details on Ariel, Ursula, and more

On Saturday, “Once Upon a Time” descended on Disney’s annual D23 Expo, and what we end up receiving as a result were some very-welcome details on the future of ABC’s most-enchanting new series.

First of all, there was an opening scene shown from the premiere! No one has made this available online as of this writing, but it revolved heavily around Robert Carlyle’s Rumpelstiltskin in Neverland, and presented some more evidence that this Peter Pan character, whoever he may be, is someone that really should be feared on a pretty significant level.

As for some more specific details, executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz provided some of the following to eager people who attended the convention in Anaheim:

1. Ariel is likely not going to be the only person that you meet from the “Little Mermaid” world, as both Ursula and Eric are also possibilities. However, Ursula could be another character in disguise, given that this is something the show has done many times in the past.

2. Belle will continue to impact Rumpelstiltskin’s life, even though they are far away. And yes, Emilie de Ravin still has a presence on this season.

3. Both Rapunzel and Tiana are characters that the producers want on the show at some point, but the challenge is finding a worthy story for them.

4. Oz is a realm that there is a definite interest in visiting, but it is probably not something on the slate for the immediate future.

5. While “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” is a standalone story, there will be little nuggets in here that longtime fans will appreciate; specifically, Maleficent was cited as a possibility. (Hooray!)

There were also some other things discussed at the panel that we’ve already clued you into here, including a love interest for Regina, and the return of Robin Hood played by a new actor. Now, if only there was some magic to make September 29 arrive even sooner…

Photo: ABC