Emma Rigby Cast In ABC’s ‘Once Upon A Time’ Spinoff As Red Queen

EXCLUSIVE: British actress Emma Rigby (Hollyoaks) has joined ABC’s Once Upon A Time spinoff, which is now titled Once Upon A Time In Wonderland (previously Once: Wonderland). The presentation, from Once Upon A Time creators Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, is set in pre-curse Wonderland. The story is told through the point of view of Alice (Sophie Lowe) who has a generous heart but carries the scars of a long hard life. She is joined by Cyrus (Peter Gadiot), Alice’s love interest, and the Knave of Hearts (Michael Socha), a sardonic adventurer. Rigby will play the Red Queen, a character based on the playing card that originated in the novel Through The Looking Glass by Alice In Wonderland author Lewis Carroll. In the book, the Red Queen aka Iracebeth, has a short temper and is merciless against her enemies and those who have betrayed her. The character was portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter in the 2010 Tim Burton movie. Since the spinoff takes place in a pre-curse world, as we previously reported, like on Once, there will be flashbacks, so we could see familiar faces, including Barbara Hershey’s recently departed Cora, who was the Queen Of Hearts in Once‘s Wonderland.

The four-scene Once Upon A Time In Wonderland presentation is slated to begin filming April 7 in Vancouver, immediately following the wrap of Once‘s Season 2 there. Rigby, repped by WME, UK’s Independent Talent Group and Alan Siegel Entertainment, recently shot an arc on the British series Ripper Street and also starred in the BBC Drama Prisoners’ Wives. She just wrapped shooting The Physician and recently shot the indie Plastic.

Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter