Once Upon a Time, in case you haven’t heard, is an ABC show currently in its third season. The best way to describe it is “Enchanted for grownups.” Or “the ultimate Disney crossover fanfiction.” Or “that show where Snow White and Prince Charming’s daughter got knocked up by Rumpelstiltskin’s son and their kid got adopted by Snow White’s evil stepmother who was almost the lovechild of Rumpelstiltskin and the Miller’s Daughter and that’s just the beginning.”

Although Once‘s original pitch was classic fairy tale characters living in the modern world, it quickly became obvious that “classic fairy tale” = “anything either in the public domain or owned by Disney.” So far the world of the Enchanted Forest has intersected with Wonderland, Frankenstein, the Knights of the Round Table, Robin Hood, Neverland, and most recently, Oz. Which is AWESOME. Go big or go home, right? Once Upon a Time is almost sure to get a fourth season. Here are a few yet-untapped veins in the Disney properties and public domain gold mines.
5. SHERLOCK HOLMES
There’s always a mystery afoot in Storybrook. Who better than Sherlock Holmes, the world’s greatest public domain detective, to show up and solve one? Sadly, it’s unlikely that CBS or the BBC would loan Miller or Cumberbatch to a rival network. Just as well, though, since pulling Holmes and Watson out of 19th century London seems more in keeping with Once’s style. Most likely scenario: Sherlock must solve a paternity case, and he discovers that he himself is the Blue Fairy’s son, Aladdin’s brother, and Captain Hook’s father.
4. DRACULA
Srsrly tho, WHY have there not been vampires in Storybrook yet? Half of Regina’s Evil Queen costumes look like they were designed for a vampire (hmmm, maybe Carmilla would be better?). There could be this whole storyline about Dracula only being able to drink blood from someone if they have a heart, and Regina has to use her magic heart-stealing powers to save the whole town from being vampired, and Dracula is Jiminy Cricket’s son, Grumpy the Dwarf’s brother, and Mulan’s father.
3. NARNIA
The property rights situation on this one is complicated, but Disney distributed the Narnia movies, so I’m throwing it in here anyway. We’ve already seen several characters travel to and from Storybrook via wardrobe. Agrabah, a major location in the underrated Wonderland spinoff, could easily be part of the Calormen Empire. Come on, writers; I want a twisted, tangled backstory about the War of the Drobes in the land of Spare Oom. A story in which Mister Tumnus is revealed to be Red Riding Hood’s son, Ariel’s brother, and Mushu’s father.
2. MARVEL
Specifically, a Once Upon a Time/Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. two-part crossover episode. The big reveal would solve Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s major ongoing mystery regarding Skye’s parentage thusly: Aurora is currently pregnant with Skye, and Mulan is the father.
1. THE FRIGGIN’ MUPPETS
Miss Piggy: “Mirror on moi’s dressing room wall, who’s the biggest diva of them all?”
Muppet mirror: “O Queen of Hams, if camp could kill, we’d all be slain by Regina Mills.”
Miss Piggy drags the Muppet crew to Storybrook to investigate. A battle royale between her and Regina ends in an accidental curse that turns everyone in Storybrook into Muppets. They spend the whole episode trying to put things back to normal. Chaos and random musical numbers ensue. All is put to right at the end, but not before it is discovered that Miss Piggy is Cora’s other long-lost daughter, Kermit the Frog is Princess Tiana’s brother, and Gonzo is Rumpelstiltskin’s grandfather.
5 responses to “5 Crossovers That Need to Happen on Once Upon a Time”
I haven’t been able to keep up with the show, but this had me laughing out loud.
“And a good time would be had by all!”
Muppets??? =/
A crossover between Once Upon a Time and Marvel Cinematic sounds very cool, I admit. However, Mulan is a woman and not a man, so she can’t be Skye’s father. But I like the idea regardless 🙂
1. It was a joke.
2. It would be a fantasy world crossing over with a comic book world, so who knows what could happen 😉
3. It was a joke.
[…] 2. 5 Crossovers That Need To Happen On Once Upon A Time Oy, where to start with this. OUAT had pretty much written itself into a corner by the end of season 3. The show had become all about who’s secretly related to who, which boy Emma would pick, and Regina can’t have nice things. This season, ABC wisely chose to replace it with a live-action sequel to Frozen with Once Upon A Time characters making an occasional appearance because contractual obligation. My only complaint is that live-action Elsa and Anna never got to sing. […]