I wasn’t expecting any surprises from the “Once Upon A Time in Wonderland” panel at Comic-Con 2013, but lo and behold, there were plenty. In addition to learning that Alice in Wonderland (Sophie Lowe) would be a kick ass, pirate-fighting heroine, we also learned that the show, in addition to featuring a stand-alone storyline each season, would also be a mash-up of the genie in the bottle story with the Lewis Carroll classic. With Peter Gadiot playing the lovable genie Cyrus, there was a need for a villain. as creators Ed Kitsis and Adam Horowitz explained, Jafar seemed like the best candidate, but who to play him?
The answer, of course, was waiting in the wings. Jafar himself was invited to the stage — “Lost” star Naveen Andrews.
After the panel, I got a chance to talk to “The English Patient” star about his character, playing a not-so-bad bad guy, his next role with Naomi Watts, and whether there’s a rule forcing everyone who has appeared on “Lost” has to take stint on “Once Upon A Time” (of course, given that Kitsis and Horowitz were longtime writers and producers on the show, it makes sense that they’d lure over some old friends).
Though he played a good guy on “Lost,” he seemed eager to delve into the potentially complex and nuanced role of “Once Upon A Time in Wonderland” villain, and interested in exploring the freedom of diving into a world that has few boundaries.
Note: I forgot to wave the microphone back and forth for the first question or two, but the good news is you can hear everything the charming and funny Andrews had to say.