Australian actress Sophie Lowe is venturing down the rabbit hole.
The English-born thesp has been cast as Alice in the pilot for ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” spinoff, now officially titled “Once: Wonderland,” according to Deadline. In addition, British newcomer Peter Gadiot has been tapped to play Cyrus, Alice’s mysterious love interest.
The two actors join the previously-cast Michael Socha – on board to play a “sardonic” adventurer and heartbreaker known as the Knave of Hearts – in the prospective series, which will be set in a pre-curse Wonderland (as opposed to post-curse, as had been previously reported). The story will be told from Alice’s P.O.V. and may also feature Barbara Hershey’s Cora, the Queen of Hearts.
“Once: Wonderland” comes from “Once Upon a Time” creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, who are writing the “15-20 page, four-scene presentation” alongside Zack Estrin (“No Ordinary Family,” “Prison Break”) and “Once” writer/consulting producer Jane Espenson. If the pilot is ordered to series, Estrin will likely serve as showrunner alongside Kitsis and Horowitz, who will also continue to oversee “OUAT.” The show, which is slated to begin production on April 7 in Vancouver, is being envisioned as a summer series that will bridge “OUAT’s” spring and fall segments.
Lowe recently had a supporting role in the Sundance drama “Two Mothers” starring Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel and Ben Mendelsohn. The film is slated for U.S. release sometime this year.
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