'Once Upon A Time' scoop: Latest details on 'Wonderland' spinoff

We have all been eagerly waiting to see what happens with the 'Alice in Wonderland' spinoff ever since rumors of Sebastian Stan's departure from 'Once Upon A Time' arose days before last month's PaleyFest panel. At first, we exhaled a sigh of relief when show-runners, Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, assured fans that Stan's role as the Mad Hatter would not be recast (Yay!). Now we have even more to cheer about as new details about the spinoff have been revealed.

For starters, Horowitz and Kitsis, as well as Jane Espenson ('Once' writer and consulting producer) and Zack Estrin ('Prison Break') are putting together a five-scene "presentation" for ABC, which will give the network an idea of what the 13 episode spinoff will be like if the network decides to order a pilot. The current working title is 'Once Upon A Time in Wonderland' and it will serve as a mid-season bridge during 'Once Upon a Time's' 2013-2014 winter hiatus. TVLine's Matt Webb Mitovich shares some details on 'Once's' latest project:

Clarifying how Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (as it is currently dubbed) syncs up with Once Upon a Time proper, series cocreator Eddy Kitsis says, ”You will see [Wonderland] both post- and pre-curse. It will be very similar to Once in that there will be flashbacks of these new characters that take us to pre-curse Wonderland.”

The tales that take place in 'Wonderland' may tie in to 'Once Upon A Time,' but the 'American Horror Story' style series will tell its own a complete story. In another departure from 'OUAT's' format, 'Wonderland' will be told from Alice's point of view. Sounds pretty interesting so far, doesn't it? Now that we've got those details settled, let's meet the enchanting cast and colorful characters of 'Wonderland.'

English-born Australian actress, Sophie Lowe, has been cast as Alice. She has a generous heart and although she may be young, Alice carries the scares of a hard life. Sounds like another complex female character will be added to the 'OUAT' family.

British newcomer, Peter Gadiot, will play Alice's mysterious love interest, Cyrus.

As The Hollywood Reporter revealed last week, BBC 'Being Human's' Michael Socha has been cast as the Knave of Hearts. The enigmatic character is described as " a sardonic adventurer, a man of action, loner and heartbreaker -- the proverbial rolling stone. His swagger isn't quite enough to disguise the fact that he is unswervingly loyal and possessed of a strong moral code." If you are familiar with Socha's impressive performance on 'Being Human,' then you already know he will fit perfectly into 'Once's' complicated fantasy realm.

Earlier this week, Deadline broke the news about 'Wonderland's' Red Queen, played by British actress Emma Rigby. The Red Queen is "a character based on the playing card that originated in the novel Through The Looking Glass by Alice In Wonderland author Lewis Carroll. In the book, the Red Queen aka Iracebeth, has a short temper and is merciless against her enemies and those who have betrayed her." Does this description sounds familiar to you? She would have a lot in common with the Queen of Hearts (aka Cora). Is it possible that the two crimson queens crossed paths in the past? Hopefully, we'll have the chance to find out.

If ABC chooses to go ahead with the spinoff, we may see Barbara Hershey reprise her role as the Queen of Hearts. Horowitz told TVLine, “We can’t imagine visiting that time in Wonderland and not seeing Cora as the Queen of Hearts.”

Lastly, no 'Wonderland' tale is complete without the infamous White Rabbit. Deadline reports that Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) will voice the CGI White Rabbit. They even hint at a couple of quirky characters that may appear in the future, if we are lucky:

"Also likely to be on the spinoff if it is picked up to series are the characters of Mad Hatter (played by Sebastian Stan on Once) and Cheshire Cat."

'Once Upon A Time in Wonderland' will be directed by Ralph Hemecker. Season 2 of 'Once Upon A Time' just wrapped filming on April 6 and production is already underway for the spinoff, which will begin filming this week. Deadline explains:

"The choice of Hemecker as director is not surprising as he helmed the two Once episodes that prominently featured Wonderland, last season’s Hat Trick and this season’s Queen of Heart,which introduced Cora as the Queen. Hemecker has directed a total of 7 Once episodes, including the second season premiere."

More details are likely to surface over the next week as filming for 'Once Upon A Time in Wonderland' begins in Vancouver.

What do you think about 'Wonderland's' concept and cast? Are excited to see these characters come to life within 'OUAT's' world? What other fairytales would you like to see in other possible 'Once' spinoffs?