Some “Once Upon a Time” fans are not happy with losing a number of key cast members ahead of Season 7, and voicing that angst is exactly what they did during a San Diego Comic-Con panel on Saturday.
The ABC drama series’ team took part in the panel, where things got off to a bumpy start when an attendee shouted, “Why?” This was an apparent reference to the network announcing in May that the show’s upcoming run would be without such core cast members as Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow), Josh Dallas (Charming) and Jennifer Morrison (Emma).
The outburst led moderator Yvette Nicole Brown to scold the fan. “What it’s not going to be is stuff like that,” the “Community” alum said from the stage. “I will shut this whole thing down.”
Series creator Eddy Kitsis told the crowd that he and co-creator Adam Horowitz decided “it was time for characters to get their happy endings,” which is why the show is heading down this new path.
“We are going to take a new journey, and we hope you come with us on it,” Kitsis said.
Horowitz said that the show “needed to say goodbye” to the cast members, adding that “none of that was easy for anyone.”
“This is not the end, and we’re not erasing anything,” Horowitz said. “We miss them as much as you.”
The first two scenes from the Season 7 premiere were screened, and they show young Henry (Jared Gilmore) saying goodbye to Regina (Lana Parilla). He shows up later in the episode in his adult version (Andrew J. West) on a motorcycle, where he collides with Cinderella (Dania Ramirez).
Kitsis pointed out that the show would introduce a new version of Alice in Wonderland, who will be different from the one that fans met in the short-lived spinoff “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.”
Colin O’Donoghue (Hook) said that the new season has a very different feel on set for the cast.
“It almost feels like we’re all starting the show afresh together,” the actor said. “It’s kind of like we’re starting over.”
“Once Upon a Time” returns to ABC on Friday, Oct. 6.
'The Flash'-'Supergirl' Duet: 10 Musical Episodes That Paved the Way (Videos)
The stars of "Supergirl" and "The Flash" get together to lend their musical talents to the Arrowverse's first musical episode. But "Glee" aside, Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist are two-stepping down a road well-traveled. Here are some other great musical episodes in TV history.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" musical episode, "Once More With Feeling," was a watershed moment for the musical episode trope and has become a iconic in the years since, spawning fan screenings, sing-a-longs and even local productions.
"Xena Warrior Princess" did not one but two musical episodes, though the first, "The Bitter Suite," is the one which has stood the test of time. "Love of Your Love" featured the singing talents of Lucy Lawless herself, and was nominated for an Emmy.
"That 70s Show" did an all-singing all-dancing episode and naturally took advantage of all the great '70s music to create a jukebox musical facilitated by Fez's anxiety over an upcoming school talent show and whether any of his friends would show up to support him.
Yes, even dark HBO prison drama "Oz" got in on the musical episode game, with an episode that featured inmates including BD Wong and JK Simmons showing off their musical chops in front of a microphone.
"Community" has done countless episodes lampooning various other genres and pop culture references, so of course their musical episode was a send-up of "Glee," with Abed convincing his much more cynical friends to let loose and sing all their most innermost desires out loud - and maybe help Greendale Community College win regionals.
"Scrubs" does many ludicrous things in the name of comedy, and the absurdist tone of the show worked well in its musical episode, where a patient at Sacred Heart had a rare and unusual condition where she heard everything through song. How convenient.
"Supernatural" got meta for its inevitable musical episode, which also happened to be the show's 200th. That's right, 200 episodes. Of course, the episode had to be all about the show's passionate fans, and saw the brothers Winchester crash a high school musical production of "Supernatural."
"Grey's Anatomy" once aired an episode featuring its cast singing various pop songs, including Chyler Leigh belting out a version of Anna Nalick's "Breathe." Curiously, Leigh, who now plays Supergirl's sister on The CW, is not one of the singers featured in "The Flash" musical episode. Shame.
"Fringe" didn't waste any time getting to a musical episode, and did it in Season 2, where Walter smokes a particularly trippy string of marijuana and imagines a world where the characters are in a 1940s noir -- with singing and dancing.
"Legion," the FX Marvel series, wasted no time in getting its musical on. The cast hasn't sung, but there was an extended dance number featuring the main characters in the very first episode, and by Episode 6, Aubrey Plaza was performing a one-woman dance number that blew people's minds. And we're only just halfway through Season 1, mind you.
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”Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s“ ”Once More With Feeling“ is legendary, but did you know ”Supernatural“ also did a song and dance episode?
The stars of "Supergirl" and "The Flash" get together to lend their musical talents to the Arrowverse's first musical episode. But "Glee" aside, Grant Gustin and Melissa Benoist are two-stepping down a road well-traveled. Here are some other great musical episodes in TV history.
