A lot has happened since the first reports came out that ABC and the producers of Once Upon A Time were plotting a spin-off around Sebastian Stan’s Mad Hatter character.
For starters, show creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis assured several weeks ago that the rumored plans to recast the role of the otherwise unavailable Sebastian Stan would not happen. Instead, it seems the lead character of this spin-off, which would take place in Wonderland, would be a Once take on Alice.
Deadline.com’s report says that the four-scene presentation will take place in a post-curse world and that there will be flashbacks, so we could conceivably see characters like Barbara Hershey’s Cora within. THR’s report says that a teaser presentation will shoot in April and if it does well, a full pilot could shoot in July or August. No Ordinary Family’s Zack Estrin and Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Jane Espenson will be producers on the project, alongside Kitsis and Horowitz, with Estrin moving on to be an Executive Producer should it go to series.
Deadline is also reporting that the idea is to run this spin-off in short, 13-episode arcs much like American Horror Story. These arcs could possibly run during the times between new Once Upon A Time episodes. Interestingly, NBC has a Wonderland project in the works right now as well, which is being eyed for a Midseason 2014 launch. It’ll be curious to see which (if either) of these shows will make it to the TV screens first.
