Season 7

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The seventh season of the American ABC fantasy-drama Once Upon a Time was ordered on May 11, 2017. It consisted of 22 episodes, airing on Fridays, having premiered on October 6, 2017.

This season marked a significant change for the series, as it was announced at the end of the sixth season that the majority of the main cast members would not be returning for season 7. Lana Parrilla, Colin O'Donoghue, and Robert Carlyle were the only ones remaining. Andrew J. West and Alison Fernandez were announced as new regulars in May 2017. Dania Ramirez and Gabrielle Anwar were announced as additional regulars in July 2017. In August 2017, it was announced that Mekia Cox had been promoted to series regular after initially joining the cast in July as recurring.

The storyline was softly rebooted with a main narrative led by an adult Henry Mills, set several years after last season's events. In February 2018, it was announced the seventh season would serve as the final season of the series; the season and series concluded on May 18, 2018.

## Cast and characters

### Regular

* Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen / Regina Mills / Roni
* Colin O'Donoghue as Captain Hook / Killian Jones / Rogers
* Andrew J. West as Henry Mills
* Dania Ramirez as Cinderella / Jacinda Vidrio
* Gabrielle Anwar as Rapunzel / Lady Tremaine / Victoria Belfrey
* Alison Fernandez as Lucy
* Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin / Mr. Gold / Weaver
* Mekia Cox as Tiana / Sabine

### Recurring

* Jared S. Gilmore as young Henry Mills
* Adelaide Kane as Drizella / Ivy Belfrey
* Rose Reynolds as Alice / Tilly
* Emma Booth as Mother Gothel / Mother Nature / Eloise Gardener
* Chris Gauthier as Smee
* Rebecca Mader as Wicked Witch of the West / Zelena / Kelly West
* Daniel Francis as Dr. Facilier / Mr. Baron Samdi
* Robin Givens as Eudora
* Meegan Warner as young Rapunzel / Lady Tremaine
* Tiera Skovbye as Robin Hood / Margot
* Nathan Parsons as Hansel / Jack / Nick Branson
* Yael Yurman as Anastasia
* Jeff Pierre as Naveen / Drew
* Kip Pardue as Chad

### Guest

* Jillian Fargey as the Fairy Godmother
* Liam Hall as the Prince
* Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
* Emilie de Ravin as Belle
* Giles Matthey as Gideon
* Kevin Ryan as Robert
* Chris Gauthier as Smee
* Matty Finochio as Marcus Tremaine
* Cindy Luna as Cecilia
* Anna Cathcart as tween Drizella
* Alejandra Perez as young Ella
* Sophia Reid-Gantzert as young Anastasia
* Lula Mae Melench as young Drizella
* Sara Tomko as Tiger Lily
* Suzy Joachim as Madame Leota
* Nisreen Slim as Dr. Andrea Sage
* Chilton Crane as the Blind Witch / Hilda
* Chad Rook as Captain Ahab
* Elle McKinnon as young Alice
* Sara Canning as Gretel
* Charles Mesure as Blackbeard
* Beverley Elliott as Widow Lucas / Granny
* Sean Maguire as Robin Hood
* JoAnna Garcia Swisher as Ariel
* Victoria Smurfit as Cruella De Vil / Cruella Feinberg
* Robbie Kay as Malcolm / Peter Pan / Pied Piper
* Lee Arenberg as Dreamy / Grumpy / Leroy
* Keegan Connor Tracy as the Blue Fairy / Mother Superior
* Tony Amendola as Geppetto / Marco
* Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard
* Josh Dallas as Prince Charming / David Nolan
* Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archie Hopper
* David Paul Grove as Doc
* Faustino Di Bauda as Sleepy / Walter

## Production

### **Development**

In January 2017, while season 6 was still in production, ABC president Channing Dungey spoke of a possible "reset" of the show's narrative in the event that the show received a season 7 order. After much speculation, executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis later confirmed that certain characters would have their storylines wrapped up and that the back-end of the sixth season had been written with the season 7 narrative change in mind. Despite the major changes from seasons past, the showrunners have said that they do not view season 7 as a complete reboot of the show. Horowitz said: "I hesitate to use the word 'reboot.' We're more thinking about it as a hybrid of a lot of things. We're paying homage to the original premise, but there are certain characters who are returning and some who are not. It's a combination of a lot of things, but what we're trying to do is go in a new direction but stay true to the spirit of what the show has always been."

In July 2017, the creators announced that the series now take place in the Seattle neighborhood of Hyperion Heights, which was created under a new and darker curse. Residents of this neighborhood include displaced characters from the original and new versions of the Enchanted Forest, as well as regular people from the Land Without Magic. This differs from Storybrooke in season 1, which was an isolated town that was blocked off from real-world Maine. The initial villain is Lady Tremaine, who assumes the role of an urban developer who seeks to "gentrify the neighborhood" and push out and separate fairy tale residents. Meanwhile, Storybrooke and various Fairy Tale Land locations still appear in the flashbacks of the season as the story bounces back and forth between the characters' lives before and during the latest curse.

The main flashback setting of the seventh season is the New Enchanted Forest, which is a New Fairy Tale Land realm. Other locations featured in flashbacks are the Edge of Realms, the Wish Realm, Wonderland, Oz, and Storybrooke itself.

### **Casting**

In May 2017, it was announced that Lana Parrilla, Colin O'Donoghue, and Robert Carlyle would be the only series regulars from season 6 to continue onto season 7. It was teased that the three would be portraying their original characters but with cursed identities, similar to the circumstances in season 1. In July, the first promo of the season revealed that Killian is now a Seattle police officer with the last name Rogers, who is living with an unexplained sense of loss. In August, it was revealed that Regina is now a bar owner named Roni, who is more dressed down and is "no longer in charge."

Former main cast member Jennifer Morrison has confirmed that she has agreed to return for one episode, later revealed to be the second episode of the season. Morrison announced her last filming day on July 19, 2017. On July 22, it was confirmed that Emilie de Ravin would return for the fourth episode in the seventh season.

In March 2017, Andrew J. West and Alison Fernandez were cast for unknown guest roles in the season six finale. During the episode, it was revealed that West was portraying an adult Henry Mills, while Fernandez portrayed his daughter, Lucy. After that episode's airing, they were confirmed as series regulars for season 7. West will be taking over the role from Jared S. Gilmore, who has been confirmed to appear in at least the first two episodes of the season.

On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Dania Ramirez and Gabrielle Anwar would be two additional series regulars for season 7. Additionally, Adelaide Kane, Mekia Cox, and Rose Reynolds were cast in recurring roles for the upcoming season. On July 15, it was announced that Ramirez would be portraying Cinderella, albeit a different version from the one previously played by Jessy Schram for the first six seasons. On July 22 at San Diego Comic-Con, it was revealed that Anwar and Kane will be portraying Lady Tremaine and Drizella, respectively. Cox would be portraying Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, while Reynolds would be playing an alternate version of Alice, a character previously heavily featured in the spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. In August 2017, Cox was promoted to series regular.

On August 1, it was announced that Giles Matthey would return as an adult Gideon for the season's fourth episode. The episode, also featuring Emilie de Ravin, would be centered around Rumple. On that same day, it was also announced that Emma Booth was cast in a major recurring role as the Witch,[24] whose more specific identity would be revealed later on during the season. On August 25, Kevin Ryan announced that he would be making an appearance as a new prince in the upcoming season. On August 30, it was announced that Robin Givens had been cast as Tiana's mother, Eudora.

On September 8, it was announced that Meegan Warner would be guest starring as an alternate version of Rapunzel, a character previously featured in one episode of season 3. It was later revealed that the character would appear in a multi-episode arc. On September 20, it was announced that former main Rebecca Mader would return for multiple episodes in the seventh season as Zelena, who will also have a cursed identity.

On October 2, it was announced that Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog would make an appearance during the season, later revealed to be portrayed by Daniel Francis in the season's fifth episode. On October 3, it was announced that flashbacks of the ninth episode would feature a "tweenage" Anastasia, Lady Tremaine's other biological daughter.

On November 1, it was announced that Tiera Skovbye would be recurring as an older version of Robin, the daughter of Zelena and Robin Hood. On November 2, it was announced that Nathan Parsons had been cast in a recurring role as Nick, a lawyer and potential love interest for another character. On November 3, it was announced that the show was casting for the role of Naveen from The Princess and the Frog, who will be recurring in the second half of the season. It was later revealed that the role would be played by Jeff Pierre, who will first appear in the twelfth episode of the season. On November 16, actor Chad Rook announced that he had been cast in an unknown role.

On January 23, 2018, it was announced that Kip Pardue had been cast as Chad, Zelena's fiancé from when she was cursed as Kelly. He will make his first appearance in the seventeenth episode of the season.

On March 16, it was announced that multiple former cast members were set to appear in one or both of the series' last two episodes. This includes former mains Jared S. Gilmore (who had also been confirmed to appear in the twentieth episode) and Sean Maguire, as well as formerly recurring stars JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Victoria Smurfit, Robbie Kay, Beverley Elliott, Lee Arenberg, Keegan Connor Tracy, and Tony Amendola. On March 21, it was announced that Jennifer Morrison and Emilie de Ravin would be back a second time, along with Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas for the final episode of the series. In addition, Raphael Sbarge, David Paul Grove, and Faustino Di Bauda later confirmed that they were also appearing in the series finale.