'Once Upon a Time' Season 5 casting news: Actor Wes Brown to portray Belle's suitor Gaston
An upcoming episode of “Once Upon a Time” Season 5 second arc will feature Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” character Gaston. The latest casting reports have confirmed that “Once Upon a Time” (OUAT) viewers will meet Gaston again but actor Wes Brown will be portraying the role in the latest season of ABC’s fantasy-drama series. sc
Spoiler alert: This feature contains major “Once Upon a Time” Season 5 spoilers.
The pilot season of “Once Upon a Time” introduced Gaston as Belle’s fiancé with actor Sage Brocklebank briefly playing the part. Gaston tried to rescue Belle (Emilie de Ravin), who agreed to be Rumplestiltskin’s maid, but the Dark One turned Gaston into a rose and gave the flower to Belle.
An exclusive Variety report has confirmed that “Once Upon a Time” Season 5 has cast Brown as the new face for the OUAT character. Series creator and executive producer Adam Horowitz also shared the exciting casting news on Twitter.
Be our guest and please check out who's coming to #OnceUponATime https://t.co/3kcRAE5SSz
— Adam Horowitz (@AdamHorowitzLA) January 8, 2016
The report further revealed that Brown’s guest appearance in “Once Upon a Time” Season 5 is going to take the fans to the time before Belle met Rumplestiltskin (Robert Carlyle). However, the flashback episode where Brown will debut as Gaston has not yet been set.
As for the Rumplestiltskin-Belle or “Rumbelle” relationship, the second part of “Once Upon a Time” Season 5 is expected to reveal what will happen to the pair. The mid-season finale episode titled “Swan Song” revealed that Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold found a way to be the Dark One once again and Belle was not aware of Rumple’s plan.
OUAT series creator and executive producer Edward Kitsis shared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter (THR) that it was a genuine moment when Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold said goodbye to Belle because he wanted her to be safe from the darkness. However, Kitsis explained that what happened was Mr. Gold saw a crime of opportunity and took it.
“I think in a lot of ways, what Hook was saying in the opening was that he loves that dagger and it’s a part of him,” Kitsis told THR.
Kitsis further teased that all of the powers of the Dark Ones in Mr.Gold makes him stronger and very dangerous. “Once Upon a Time” Season 5 will return with episode 12 titled “Souls of the Departed” on March 6 at 8/7c on ABC.
