'Once Upon a Time' season 5 plot updates: King Arthur's court heads to Storybrooke; Hook vows to reverse Emma's 'dark' side

Things will be "darker" for Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) in the upcoming fifth season of "Once Upon a Time." Can Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) bring her back to the light? 

In the panel appearance of the cast at the San Diego Comic-Con 2015, O'Donoghue revealed how Hook responds to Emma's transformation to the new Dark One after she sacrificed herself to save her loved ones in Storybrooke last season. 

"Hook spent hundreds of years trying to kill the Dark One and now his girlfriend is the Dark One so it's going to be complicated," the actor said. "Hook loves Emma and he'll do whatever it takes to protect her heart and bring her back to being good again and being the woman that he fell in love with." 

O'Donoghue also compared his character to Emilie de Ravin's Belle, who also had to deal with loving a person bent on spreading evil when Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle) was still the Dark One. 

Meanwhile, several new characters will join the residents of Storybrooke when "Once Upon a Time" season 5 begins in fall. Three of the new characters, as TVLine described, come from the legendary tale of King Arthur. 

Deadline exclusively revealed that British actor Elliot Knight, known for portraying the titular role of Sinbad in the UK TV series, was tapped to portray the role of Merlin. The character has been described as "a man with great wisdom and intelligence beyond his years."

Portugues actress Joanna Metrass will portray Queen Guinevere, said to be a "headstrong queen."

Meanwhile, the Entertainment Weekly revealed that "24: Live Another Day" actor Liam Garrigan was cast to portray the role of King Arthur in the series. The character is said to be a "good and just ruler," who is also known as a highly skilled manipulator who can keep his anger until his grave. 

Sinqua Wall's character Lancelot, King Arthur's former trusted knight who betrayed him by having an affair with the queen, will return to the series despite being pressumed dead in season 2.  

Also, Disney's arrow-wielding princess Merida from the animated film "Brave" will be introduced in the live action TV series. She will be portrayed by Amy Manson.   

"Once Upon a Time" season 5 begins Sept. 27 on ABC. 

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