"Once Upon a Time" season 7 will undergo a soft reboot and a change to its original schedule, which has been changed to Fridays. With some of the original cast members leaving the show, including lead star Jennifer Morrison, the show will reset its narrative and will now have a grown-up Henry (Andrew J. West) taking center stage.
According to a statement released by ABC (via TVLine), The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla), Captain Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) and Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle) will band together with a now grown-up Henry Mills as they save the Enchanted Forest from evil forces in "Once Upon a Time" season 7.
The show's seventh outing will feature new and old characters, and will continue to build on stories about finding true love, going on great adventures and taking sides between good and evil.
As for old characters such as The Evil Queen and Rumpelstiltskin, ABC entertainment chief Channing Dungey teased that they will return "with new identities in a new city, facing a new curse."
Primarily, the show will shift its focus to Henry, who's been the heart of the show since the very beginning. Back in the first season, Henry was still a young boy writing everyone else's story. In season 7, viewers will see a grown-up version of Henry who has lost his faith in hope.
Throughout the show, Henry was the truest believer in hope and magic, but by the end, he seemed to have lost faith in it. Much like Emma's journey, Henry's, too, will be about finding hope and restoring his faith in happy endings.
"Now, we're going to see what that character becomes in a 10-years-older version," showrunner Adam Horowitz told Entertainment Weekly, adding, "But he's still going to be that character and still carry that essence of the show and be the center of the family that's at the heart of the show."
As for the characters, the show will still utilize fairy tale characters and bring them into the real world. While "Once Upon a Time" season 7 will bring back characters from the previous seasons, the show will branch out and bring in new season regulars.
"Once Upon a Time" season 7 is expected to premiere this fall.
