Once Upon a Time Casts Hercules, Meg — Plus: Scoop on a Returning Heroine! 

An ABC spokesperson confirms for TVLine that relative newcomer Jonathan Whitesell and

‘s Kacey Rohl have been cast as Hercules and Meg, to appear in the 13th episode of Season 5, titled “Labor of Love.”

The castings come on the heels of TVLine reporting that

‘s Greg Germann will recur this spring as “The Distinguished Gentleman,” which some have speculated is code for Hades.

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Additionally, TVLine has learned that Bailee Madison (

) will reprise her role as Young Snow White in the same episode (the second to air after the long winter break). Madison last appeared on

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As previously revealed in my Inside Line column, Hercules is described as “a dashing, strapping young man” who is “single-minded in his pursuit of his destiny: to be the greatest hero who ever lived. All that changes however, when he falls in love with a beautiful princess.”

Meg, meanwhile, is “a plucky young adventurer with a sly sense of humor and a tough, no-nonsense spirit. And though she has spent a long time languishing in a dungeon, her inner spark has not burned out. Rather, it is waiting for the right opportunity to shine brightly again.”

, or for any other show? Email insideline@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.

Oh dang, Kacey Rohl is an awesome choice for Meg. I wish this show was not bad, though.

Also, just putting this out there: how are we getting Hercules and Meg before Aladdin and Jasmine? Still can’t believe we had Jafar without any mention of Aladdin or Jasmine throughout the whole Wonderland series.

They don’t bring the characters in a particular order. I’m sure Aladdin and Jasmine are on S6 plan list.

that was jafar not genie sidney glass is the genie in the magic mirror

Cyrus, the Genie Alice was in love with, was the one from Aladdin.

What do you base that on? Everything on the show indicated that it followed Aladdin.

I love Greek mythology. I’m so excited for Hades. I would be excited for Hercules too, but with Meg there, it’s all going to be Disney-fied. AGAIN. What made Once great was new takes on classic tales. Ever since the Frozen arc, it’s new takes on Disney movies. If I wanted to watch Brave, I would have put in my DVD instead of watched last night. I wish they would get their heads out of Disney’s money ass.

It’s a TV SHOW. We all want more episodes right? More seasons? I’d rather the show continue to bring in more characters from Disney that haven’t been brought on yet, than watch the same thing over and over again like unnecessary flashbacks to characters we already have that have already been told their story. The show has to have change to continue and to tell more stories. Look at NCIS and its spinoffs, and those other shows on CBS. Basically the same storylines, except different characters and settings. Would you rather have that or new storylines?

People are constantly complaining about new characters. Well sorry, but that’s the formula of the show. It’s a Disney show and it’s been that way since the beginning. Where else are we going to see Snow and Hercules hanging together if not on OUAT?

That’s my point and thank you for understanding something that some viewers don’t understand or don’t want to understand. That’s how the writers are telling their story, let them tell it.

The original comment was not complaining about new characters. Instead, there is a case to be made that this would be more interesting if they tackled the original Greek myth of Hercules, which would not include Meg because she was an addition to the Disney version and not a part of ancient Greek mythology. I am a lover of Greek mythology so I personally would love them to approach an ancient myth rather than an already altered version of one.

Yes. Megara is Hercules first wife who he kills along with their children.

How can you say you are a fan of Greek mythology and not know that Megara is Hercules first wife, which he ends up killing in a blind rage along with their six sons? It’s through that series of events that he ends up having to do the 12 labors. The Disney version is not accurate, but it is accurate in the sense the most of the characters appear in Greek mythology. Meg is very much a part of Hercules story.

I don’t mind new characters as long as they make sense in the narrative while featuring the core characters that got us here. That’s why the Queens of Darkness worked, because they pushed the core characters. Now that we’re in 5A, it’s not making sense. For example, look at August. He’s Emma’s best friend and brother figure. Where is he in season five? He’d be right beside Hook ready to help Emma in a heartbeat. Instead we’re giving focus to things that won’t carry over to other seasons. Frozen hasn’t carried over. The Queens of Darkness hasn’t carried over. And Merida won’t stick around. We’re investing in these one off characters for half a season to never see them again.

What made the show wonderful was the ensemble. I wouldn’t mind Merida if she was written well and had good stories that made sense. Her original stuff not based in Brave has been good. Then you get episodes like last night. Why does she have to be queen anyway? In Brave, the men FEARED Queen Elinor. She would walk into a room, and they would part for her without her uttering a word. Why isn’t she queen? The answer is to give Merida a watered down story when we could be seeing Granny, the dwarves, Belle and Rumpel, Snowing, Zelena, etc. Robin and Regina hasn’t done much, but we have an entire Merida episode? And where’s that Blue Fairy backstory? Blue was said in season one to be Rumpel’s greatest enemy, but she’s never been seen with him. And yet when they left for Camelot, they left Rumpel with his arch nemesis? And nothing happens? That’s just missed opportunities.

Don’t get me wrong. I love this show. This show saved me and allowed me to meet some of my best friends today. It propelled me into my current career path. I’m critical only because I want it to succeed. I think it’s important to critically think about the media we care about. I suggest looking into podcasts like Other Side of the Mirror who has 100+ episodes of how the plot, characters, and continuity aren’t as strong as they once were.

Ohhhhh really loving Kacey Rohl as Meg, I’m sure she’ll do an exceptional job! I’m so happy Bailee is coming back!

I hope they’ve learned from seasons 4 and 5A so far and will STOP putting so much emphasis and give so much screen time to the guest characters when the main ones are barely in it anymore. Seems like 5B will maybe focus more on the core cast again. But they did promise the same for 5A and look how that turned out, so you never know with Once anymore…

In the Disney film, Meg is not a princess, so the description of Hercules’ character represents a change for Once, unless they are incorrectly referring to Meg as a princess.

Clearly young Hercules is going to fall for Snow White. She is the princess.

Dang it. My apologies. Clicked post by accident. The “yes” was to be followed by my excitement about these new characters and the actors portraying them. Looking forward to the stories.

And he really is Hercules. Dude has an instagram video deadlifting 405 pounds. Damn.

I’m fine with Once bringing in new characters but I do not need 2+ episodes of backstory for each one when they’ll be gone in 10 episodes anyway. I’d prefer to have hints of their history here and there through dialogue. After what I like to call the Frozen Flashback Fiasco, I’m much less open to all these guest stars.

Soooo excited for Season 5B. We get Cruella De Vil back (the best villain the series has brought over since Rumple and Cora/Queen of Hearts). And will bring in Hades, another villain whose potential to be AMAZING.

Then we get to see young Snow again! And now Meg the sassiest Disney character is coming. Then Hercules. Never was a huge fan of his but this show could make me a believer.

Was disappointed. Am ready for them to all get together. And save Emma they are heroes. And that includes. Gold. And get on with. Getting a leash that will hold. Salena the sounded like they were giving up last night . Dear God use the story line. With all the heroes. Strength. Mr Gold included

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