Once Upon A Time Finds Its Prince Hans And Pabbie The Rock Troll

With last year’s spinoff Once Upon a Time in Wonderland quickly becoming a distant memory, ABC’s fantasy drama Once Upon a Time is looking to build upon its core audience by bringing in characters from one of the most popular movies in modern times, Disney’s Frozen. The series recently added two more formerly animated characters for Season 4, as Shameless star Tyler Jacob Moore will cast as the dashingly devious Prince Hans, and veteran actor John Rhys-Davies (the Lord of the Rings franchise) has been cast as the wise rock troll Pabbie. Perhaps not a career high for Mr. Rhys-Davies.

Recent weeks have seen the casting and reveal of Georgiana Haig’s Snow Queen Elsa and Scott Michael Foster’s Kristoff. (As well as Elizabeth Lail’s addition as Princess Anna.) According to THR, Moore’s live-action Hans will first show up in the third episode and is scheduled to recur throughout the season. As for the CGI rock troll’s presence, Rhys-Davies is currently only voicing him for one episode, but producers are keeping the option open to add more of him in the future.

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As you might recall from the film, Hans is Anna’s love at one point before Elsa deems their relationship forbidden. It all works out in the end, since he’s a total conniving douchebag, but I wonder if this character arc will remain the same for the small screen transition. And then there’s Pabbie, the ruler of the Valley of the Living Rock; not a place that network TV goes very often. He’s got magical abilities, and a vague way of giving advice that is most sitcom-like in its misunderstanding.

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Moore, who has had a recurring role on Shameless over the years, will soon be seen in William Dickerson’s thriller Don’t Look Back opposite Lucy Griffiths. Rhys-Davies, who recently starred in the ridiculous Asylum release Apocalypse Pompeii, is currently filming Thurman Bryan and Luis Esteban’s thriller Nameless.

For a fun look “behind the scenes” at Once Upon a Time, check out the spoofy video released for Comic-Con.

Mirror, Mirror, please do have faith. Once Upon a Time returns to ABC on Sunday, September 28.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.