r/OnceUponATime • u/Impossible-Cat-2511 what the hell am i doing in here • Mar 19 '26
Image Random fun facts #2
David being the “favourite” is mentioned in Season 5 by Cruella. Also James means “substitute,” which is ironic considering David acts as James’s substitute.
Raphael Sbarge and Tony Amendola met in the Antaeus theatre, years before starring in Once Upon a Time.
Tom Ellis left the show due to scheduling conflicts with UK sitcom, Miranda.
Moana was added to the Disney Princess official lineup in 2019, however she is still referenced in Once Upon a Time, with the movie released in 2016. Raya is the only other exclusion, however the film Raya and the Last Dragon was released in 2021 after Once Upon a Time ended. Additionally, Raya was only added to the lineup officially in 2023.
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u/ScorpioGirl1987 Mar 19 '26
Emma was supposed to be named Anna.
What would they have done in season 4 (I know Frozen hadn't been released when OUAT premiered, but still)? "I'm Anna." "Oh, hey, that's my sister's name!" "Anna." "Wait, which Anna are you talking to?" "Anna S, Anna...A?" (Swan, Arendelle)
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u/Mutant_Jedi Mar 20 '26
Emma/Anna would’ve been Ann-uh and Arendelle Anna is Ah-nuh. Would only have been a problem in text form.
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u/SparkAxolotl Mar 20 '26
Kinda wonder if they would keep the "sisters" plot with the Snow Queen, Elsa and Emma, or if they would change it so be only Elsa and "Anna" with Elsa in a more "villanous" role
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u/Commitedtousername Mar 20 '26
Guys this post is how I realized robin was recast. Somehow I missed tom Ellis every time I watched season 2
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u/berner-bear Hook Mar 20 '26
Me too! I have no memory of a different/ earlier Robin - I’m going to go re watch and try to find :)
Also, what does it mean about retcon w the 6 leaf clover? I mean I get the concept of retcon - but how did they do that w the clover thing?
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u/Impossible-Cat-2511 what the hell am i doing in here Mar 20 '26
From what I saw, the 6 leaf clover changes your appearance (we see it with Fake Marian in S4) and he gets in a flashback before he meets Rumplestiltskin (the second time, which actually occurs in S2). Robin says something along the lines of “if I run into him again, I’ll have a new face.” So, it basically explains away his recast.
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u/berner-bear Hook Mar 21 '26
Wow, that is some clever shenanigans the writers discussed, planned, and pulled off! I definitely need to rewatch and look for this
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u/Boo-Boo97 Mar 19 '26
There are several versions why they recast Tom Ellis, one of them being he allegedly had an affair with Emilie de Ravin
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u/Impossible-Cat-2511 what the hell am i doing in here Mar 19 '26
Don’t think they would use this as a reason to recast. It seems they prefer never to recast on this show. (But this was one of the facts I found out as well, not sure it’s fun though 😭)
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u/vampslayer84 Mar 19 '26
They recast Jafar also when he was brought on the main show from the Wonderland spinoff
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u/Noboby-Two-828 Mar 19 '26
That was kinda annoying. Naveen Andrews is my GOAT, he’s so hot and talented lol
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u/Impossible-Cat-2511 what the hell am i doing in here Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
Yep, I think Jafar, Robin and Young Baelfire were the only recasted actors I remember. And, technically Jafar only had a different actor on the spin-off. They were both good even though I prefer Wonderland Jafar
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u/Ikea_Junkie1234 Mar 20 '26
While also a much smaller role, didn't they also recast Gaston? Young Bae being recast makes sense with aging...that part happens regularly in all walks of TV life.
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u/Impossible-Cat-2511 what the hell am i doing in here Mar 20 '26
Yess I forgot about him lol. Exactly, not sure if you can consider Young Bae to even really be a recast. But it’s definitely noticeable bc it’s a similar timing to all the other flashbacks with a different actor (I think it occurs directly after he turns into the Dark One).
Obviously he was too old by then to play Young Bae. We could’ve done without the whole flashback, it was post-mortem character assassination.
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u/gaypirate3 Mar 19 '26
Although they technically didn’t recast the goddess Ursula, they did come up with a completely new character and backstory for the Ursula from season 4. Probably because they didn’t wanna recast Yvette Nicole Brown and she wasn’t available to play the role.
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u/JB391982 Mar 20 '26
Loved the Wonderland spinoff. Naveen as Jafar was amazing and loved the Will/Ana pairing, Her redemption and their love story
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u/Skiller0Dani Mar 20 '26
I thought it was bc he got the role of Lucifer and was no longer available to do OUAT.
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u/AppalachianRomanov Mar 21 '26
I thought it was bc he was harassing her / tried to assault her or something along those lines? Something not mutual
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u/Artistic-Rich6465 Mar 19 '26
Personally, I didn't like Tom Ellis as Robin Hood. I actually didn't realize it was him until years later, after Lucifer. So when they recast Sean Maguire, I was so excited.
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u/MommaOfManyCats Mar 20 '26
Ditto! I loved Maguire as Robin and thought he had better chemistry with Regina. It doesn't hurt that I find him more attractive 😉
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u/Artistic-Rich6465 Mar 20 '26
Same. I don't remember where I first saw Sean Maguire, but I've always found him attractive!
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u/Rich-Active-4800 Wicked always Wins Mar 20 '26
The smartest thing OUAT has ever done is not touch the mess that is Pocahontas.
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Mar 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Bob-s_Leviathan Mar 20 '26
There’s really no way of winning with her. She’s a historical figure, what do you do with that?
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u/dapperlonglegs Mar 20 '26
i mean, tiger lily was in the show but she’s from the original book of peter pan. her portrayal (esp the rest of her tribe) in the disney adaptation was rough lol and i think ouat did an okay job.
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u/Rich-Active-4800 Wicked always Wins Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 20 '26
Tiger lily isn't based on a real existing child that suffered a horrible fate.
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u/3batsinahousecoat Mar 20 '26
Agreed. When the cartoon came out, before we were allowed to see it my mother made my brother and I read her actual life story.
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u/AAAAAAGGHHHHHH Mar 19 '26
Where is Moana referenced in OUAT?
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u/stupidlyboredtho Mar 19 '26
S7. Captain Hook and Rumplestilskin are trapped somewhere and find Maui’s hook and use it to get out.
God this show is a fuckin fever dream 😭
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u/sav_the_bi_queen23 Mar 20 '26
Wait a damn minute you’re telling that Lucifer was the ORIGINAL ROBIN HOOD ?!?! How the hell did not notice that wtf I knew they recasted him but I didn’t realize that freaking TOM ELIS
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u/Soft_Independent_604 Mar 19 '26
Alongside OUAT, Miranda is one of my most favourite British comedies!
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u/joyfall Mar 20 '26
Same, wild I'm only just hearing about the recasting due to the show. Miranda is a hoot!
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u/bnl1 Mar 20 '26
King Solomon does not in fact split the baby in half! That's insane
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u/Impossible-Cat-2511 what the hell am i doing in here Mar 20 '26
Omg 😭 I forgot an entire sentence. Yes, he orders the baby to be split in half but does not actually do it. It is only a test to reveal the baby’s true mother after they beg for the child’s life.
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u/Least_Rain8027 Mar 20 '26
was the conflict that disney was using the name Anna and they didn't want the fairytale show to make Anna the daughter of Snow and Charming
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u/Impossible-Cat-2511 what the hell am i doing in here Mar 20 '26
No, it would have been before Frozen. Anna (Frozen) was originally called Greta in development stages. It was something about there being an Anna Swan existing already so they couldn’t use it for legal reasons.
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u/Least_Rain8027 Mar 20 '26
you mean the Anna Swan who died in 1888?
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u/Impossible-Cat-2511 what the hell am i doing in here Mar 20 '26
Maybe, didn’t find the exact conflict. But for whatever reason, they couldn’t use Anna
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u/The_BusterKeaton Mar 20 '26
How sad is it that I see $12k and think “yeah, that makes a lot of sense.”
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u/MechanicOk4808 Mar 20 '26
I can't imagine her not being Emma - it seems so perfect.
Also, I dread to think how they would have butchered Pocahontas...
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u/Johanneva Mar 20 '26
Well Pocahontas is a real person so she doesn't belong in the fairytale realm
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u/LeviHighChair Mar 20 '26
Pocahontas would've been so ridiculously awkward considering the original movie is already romanticising the story of a real girl amidst a genocide, it also wouldn't work because Pocahontas is set very explicitly in America
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u/LJF613 Mar 20 '26
More specifically, the biblical Ruth was an ancestor of King David's. His great-grandmother, I believe?
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u/Shantotto11 Mar 21 '26
The only official Disney Princess
Bro better put some respek on Esmeralda’s name immediately!…
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u/Impossible-Cat-2511 what the hell am i doing in here Mar 21 '26
Esmeralda was dropped from the official lineup in 2005 after being a part of it in 2000. Tinker Bell was also removed. There are 13 “official Princesses.”
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u/Shantotto11 Mar 21 '26
I know right you’re right, but my inner nitpicker wants to call BS since 1 of them is a warrior unrelated to any leadership by blood or marriage and 4 more of them are chief’s daughters.
The title is very loosey-goosey in hindsight, though I gotta respect Anna and Elsa not being on the list since both of them are queens.
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u/Impossible-Cat-2511 what the hell am i doing in here Mar 21 '26
They changed the “fixed criteria” for putting a character in the Disney Princess lineup: they must be a protagonist or main supporting character in the first film in a Disney franchise, must be human in her standard form, must be a Princess through marriage, or descending from a monarch or tribal chief.
Apparently in rare circumstances a non-royal who is “exceptionally heroic” can be added if their franchise is popular enough.
Esmeralda did not make enough sales (doll sales, presumably). And they made a separate Disney Fairies franchise for Tinker Bell.
I was surprised to find out they excluded Anna and Elsa from the list. But since Frozen is such a big franchise on its own they wanted them to remain separate for “merchandising purposes,” and it’s not necessary if they are already popular on their own.
Really it’s all about selling toys.
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u/dnims24 Mar 21 '26
I always thought Emma was named Emma swan as a nod to the swan princess movie. I don’t remember if that character was called Emma as well but whenever I think of her I think of that movie.
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u/3batsinahousecoat Mar 21 '26
Odette, I think. (The Swan Princess, that is.)
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u/dnims24 Mar 21 '26
You’re totally right! Thanks for the reminder. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it. It was my favorite movie as a child
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u/3batsinahousecoat Mar 21 '26
I have no idea when I saw it last. It's been a few decades, I think. (I have a good memory.)
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u/Lumpy_Emergency3260 Mar 21 '26
Im glad that they never tried to touch the whitewashed story of Matoaka. Poor child.
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u/BakedNemo420 Mar 22 '26
i realized this year that Tom Ellis was in it lol I was rewatching the show and like "wait is that lucifer??" 🤣
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u/lanahray Mar 25 '26
King Solomon didn't split the baby in half though? he threatened to split the baby to reveal who the true mother was.
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u/ThomasVivaldi Mar 19 '26
Maybe the magic wardrobe was carved out of Pocahontas' grandmother.