“Once Upon a Time” fans may need to bid farewell to yet another character.
Lana Parrilla, who is one of few core cast members returning for the ABC drama’s rebooted seventh season, told reporters at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour that her Evil Queen character will no longer go by her Storybrooke name of Regina Mills.
“I don’t think her name is Regina, and that’s cool,” the actress said. “I’m no longer in pantsuits — I’m in denim and rock T-shirts. When we meet her, this other version of Regina, she’s working in a bar. She’s a little rough around the edges.”
Parilla acknowledged that other returning characters will emphasize unfamiliar aspects of their personalities in the new season, but that this will be especially true for the Evil Queen: “She looks very different — she feels different.”
“She’s no longer in charge,” Parrilla continued. “This version of Regina is something else. I’m still discovering her. I think we’re all still discovering who she is — it’s refreshing.”
When a journalist wanted to know the name that the other characters will now call Regina, Parilla replied cagily, “I can’t tell you — you’ll have to tune in.”
This led series co-creator Edward Kitsis to quip, “‘The Queen Formally Known as Regina’ will also work.”
New cast member Andrew J. West, who plays the adult version of Henry Mills, said that viewers will see Regina and Henry “interact in a way that you’ve never seen them.”
Meanwhile, “Once” co-creator Adam Horowitz pointed out that the pair’s “relationship is central to the show, and remains so.”
ABC announced in May that Season 7, which launches Oct. 6, will be without such core cast members as Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow), Josh Dallas (Charming) and Jennifer Morrison (Emma).