"Once Upon a Time" is bringing a new eye candy when the show returns with the second half of its season 5.
Wes Brown, ("True Blood," "Private Practice") will be playing Belle's (Emilie de Ravin) suitor, the cocky Gaston, but the storyline takes viewers all the way back to the time before Belle met and fell in love with Rumple (Robert Carlyle), according to Variety.
Nothing much has been revealed about the episode and in which particular episode Brown and his character will make an appearance, but it should be sometime when the second half of the season returns this March.
Avid followers of "Once Upon a Time" know very well that it won't be the first time that Gaston will make an appearance in the fairy-tale series, but the previous one was played by a different actor, Sage Brocklebank.
The role of Gaston has been handed to a new actor set to appear in an episode that's expected to give more focus to Belle's early life.
Gaston's storyline will be part of the show's "bright future" as teased by ABC boss, Paul Lee.
"Once Upon a Time" has seen a drop in its ratings ever since the first season aired. Season 1 had 11.71 million viewers and the show garnered a 4.1 rating in the 18–49 demo, but the recently concluded season 5A only had 4.56 million viewers and a rating of 1.3, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Despite the drop in ratings, Lee is confident that the show will live past the fifth season. According to him, producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis always bring something new to the show.
The ABC boss also thinks that the next theme, Hades and the Underworld, will be great since it will bring back several characters that said goodbye to the show. "I think 'Once Upon a Time' has a long and bright future," Lee said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Apart from Gaston's reappearance, the show is also bringing back Henry (Tony Perez), Cora (Barbara Hershey), Cruella de Vil (Victoria Smurfit), Milah (Rachel Shelley), and Peter Pan (Robbie Kay).
"Once Upon a Time's" season 5B returns with new episodes starting on Mar. 6 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
