By Lukas Shayo Published 1 hour ago
Six years after the show ended, Once Upon A Time’s Captain Hook actor, Colin O’Donoghue, addresses the chances that the show could be revived.
Summary
- Colin O'Donoghue believes that Once Upon A Time 's potential revival chances are high if it picks up where it left off, as fairy tales are timeless and popular among families.
- However, the chances of a direct sequel are slim due to the characters' fulfilled endings and potential difficulty in reuniting the ensemble cast.
- A reboot with a new cast and fresh storylines could be the best way to revive interest in the beloved and unique fantasy series.
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Colin O'Donoghue has his own opinions about the future of Once Upon A Time. Focusing on modern fairy tales, the show features characters from numerous stories as they interact with one another and struggle to regain their long-lost memories. The show premiered in 2011 and came to an end in 2018 after over 150 episodes. Over its years on TV, it left a strong legacy for ABC. O'Donoghue was a major star, having played the legendary Captain Hook.
Since Once Upon A Time ended, O'Donoghue has not been quite as prolific in live-action TV, having largely been relegated to voice acting. Speaking with Collider about his career, O'Donoghue revealed that he is interested in taking part in a revival. Because of enduring cultural interest in fairy tales, he sees the potential to pick up where the show left off and believes that families would welcome a return.
" I think that the show could definitely go again. I mean, look, it's a call for Eddie and Adam, really. I've spoken to them and a few other people about it, and I think what's great about Once is I think that you could kind of come back and just pick up where it left off, or whatever that is. Or a reunion in the metaverse. But, look, what was great about Once Upon a Time, and what was great about working on it was that every episode there was something new and fresh and different. There was a different world, there were different characters, there were different sorts of aspects of Disney and fairy tales. Here’s the thing, fairy tales will never go out of fashion. They haven't for hundreds of years, and I don't see them going out of fashion anytime soon. Also, there are no shows like that now at the minute, you know what I mean? I mean, don't get me wrong, there's tons of really incredible shows. But there's nothing like that where it was a case of, families were literally excited to sit down on a Sunday night to watch it together and spend time with each other and talk about it. The community of people who came together because of Once Upon a Time is just incredible, like a family."
Once Upon A Time's Revival Chances
As much as O'Donoghue hopes for a revival, the show's chances of continuing are low. Even former star Robert Carlyle admitted that Once Upon A Time should have ended sooner. Season 3 concluded with each character recovering their identities and bonding again with their families. After that, however, the show went on for four more seasons and rarely found solid ground to build stories from.
The show ended with Regina finally being crowned the Good Queen, which would make returning to the show somewhat difficult. Every character had a fairly fulfilling ending, which would mean that continuing the story would mean dragging it on yet again. After going off-air for half a decade, it is unlikely that every actor would appear in a follow-up season. The Once Upon A Time family tree is essential to the narrative, so each character plays a crucial role and must appear. With such a large ensemble, it would unfortunately likely require at least one character to be recast.
Once Upon A Time is available for streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
There is always the potential for a reboot, of course. If the story begins again at the very start, then there is an easy way to start with a new cast of actors. It would also allow for new characters, potentially creating a universe that borrows from more obscure fairy tales, rather than just the ones used in Once Upon A Time. If there is a new version of the show, it could very well prove to revive interest in a once-popular franchise.
Source: Collider
