Change is coming to Once Upon a Time. That's no secret. But who knew the reverberations of the revamp would be felt even in Regina Mills' fabulously fierce wardrobe?
As the ABC fairy tale fantasy undergoes a major transformation heading into its seventh season, shedding much of its core cast while welcoming a handful of new faces, it appears our erstwhile Evil Queen will be keeping things decidedly more casual when we finally check back in with her.
"Let's just say: Regina's no longer wearing pantsuits," Lana Parrilla admitted as she and her co-stars stopped by for a chat with E! News following their very revealing panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday. "Now, Lana is today, but Regina no longer wears pantsuits. She's in jeans, which is—I don't think she's ever worn jeans. Ever. A more down-to-earth, been there-seen it all-done it, which is a really cool, different take on the character."
And Parrilla's hardly the only one getting an updated wardrobe in the new season. As eagle-eyed fans observed when the first trailer made its debut at the end of the show's SDCC panel, Colin O'Donoghue's Hook has traded in his pirate garb for some police blues. "It's very nice, very blue. That's about all I can say about it," the actor told us, playing coy.
However, he did open up on the major cast shake-up at the end of season six, ensuring fans that just because Jennifer Morrison would no longer be on the series—when she announced her departure from the series, she did promise to return for one final episode in season seven—there wasn't cause for concern for Hook and Emma, who finally tied the knot in the show's blockbuster musical episode this spring.
Parrilla and O'Donoghue, along with fellow mainstay Robert Carlyle, are in the unique position of getting to reinvent their characters while the show they've starred on for the last six years reinvents itself as well. They'll be joined by new series regulars Gabrielle Anwar, Dania Ramirez, Andrew J. West (as an adult Henry Mills!) and Alison Fernandez, along with some new recurring players, including Adelaide Kane, Mekia Cox and Rose Reynolds. While some diehard fans of the series may still be skeptical about the changes, Parrilla and O'Donoghue are welcoming their new world order with open arms.
"It feels like a new show working with old friends. And new friends. It's been fun," Parrilla told us. "I really enjoy it. Every day is a new adventure, getting to learn about each other and getting to learn about our new-ish characters and this new world that we're living in. It's fun."
"Lana and I were talking about it after the read-through. We were just saying, It almost feels like we're doing a pilot," O'Donoghue added. "Only half the people worked on a show, you know what I mean? Even the crew and all that. It just feels like it's a whole new thing, which is great."
And about those fans still on the fence, O'Donoghue has a message for them. "I would say to the fans to remember that Eddy [Kitsis] and Adam [Horowitz] created the show that they fell in love with in the first place and to trust in them that they're going to do the same with this new season with some characters that they know and love already, but with new characters who they can completely invest in again. And that it's the same people there, 100 percent behind it, wanting it to be the best that it can be."
For Anwar, the message is a bit more simple: "Believe!"
To hear more from the cast, be sure to check out the videos above.
Are you ready to follow the cast's lead and believe in season seven? Sound off in the comments below!
Once Upon a Time returns on a new night and time, Friday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. on ABC