Lana Parrilla says she's open to returning to Once Upon a Time: 'That character has a huge piece ...

Parrilla is the second star of the ABC series to say she'd be up for a reboot after Ginnifer Goodwin. Lana Parrilla says she's open to returning to Once Upon a

Parrilla is the second star of the ABC series to say she'd be up for a reboot after Ginnifer Goodwin.

Lana Parrilla says she's open to returning to Once Upon a Time: 'That character has a huge piece of my heart'

Parrilla is the second star of the ABC series to say she'd be up for a reboot after Ginnifer Goodwin.

By Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at ** with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, *Ms. Magazine*, *The Hollywood Reporter*, and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, *It Happened One Fight*, is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen.

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Published on August 18, 2025 09:00AM EDT

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- The characters of *Once Upon a Time *may have gotten their happy endings after seven seasons, but that doesn't mean the cast isn't open to a reboot.

- In an exclusive clip from the podcast *I've Never Said This Before, *Lana Parrilla says she'd be open to returning to the series, echoing her costar Ginnifer Goodwin.

- Parrilla also reflects on how much her character Regina's journey changed her own life.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's ready for a *Once Upon a Time *reboot?

Lana Parrilla for one, who played Regina/The Evil Queen for seven seasons on the ABC fantasy series. Parrilla gushes about her affection for the character and her openness to a potential return while appearing as a guest of Tommy DiDario's podcast, *I've Never Said This Before. *

In an exclusive clip ahead of the episode's release, DiDario shows Parrilla a clip of her costar Ginnifer Goodwin, who played Snow White/Mary Margaret, stumping for a reboot on a red carpet where she said, "I would like to make that happen. If there was a reboot, I'm just saying I would be interested."

The podcast host then asks Parrilla if she feels similarly.

Ginnifer Goodwin and Lana Parrilla in 'Once Upon a Time'.

JACK ROWAND/ABC

"I've always had mixed feelings about it because the series ran for so long," she admits. "I was like, I don't know what more we can tell, these characters have been so deeply fleshed out. But there's always more stories. And that character has a huge piece of my heart, so I would be open to it, for sure."

Back in 2017 when the series first ended, Parrilla admitted to * *that she had a difficult time accepting the end of the show at first. "It's taken me a good, solid month and a half to get to this place," she said during the final week of production. "I was pretty angry at first, when the show was canceled, and very depressed and sad about it."

In the exclusive podcast clip, Parrilla, who will next be seen in *The Rainmaker, *discusses her love for the series and the role, explaining how much it has impacted her life. She notes that she often is reminded of incredibly touching pieces of dialogue she said when fans ask her about it or request autographs.

Lana Parrilla reveals she lived in her car early in her career: 'It terrifies me still to this day'

'Once Upon a Time' star Lana Parrilla reacts to Regina's happy ending

"What I forgot about over the years is how great the writing is," she says. "I mean, I know the writing is great; it has to start with that for a show to be successful. But I forgot how many quotes were great in it and how they were like more lessons for people. People grew from these characters and their lives changed, and that was something I don't think I would've understood had I not been meeting the fans over the years like I do.

"I would go back to [creators] Adam [Horowitz] and Eddie [Kitsis] and say, 'Do you guys realize what you've done?'" she adds. "It's changed lives. That's the first time I've ever been a part of something that magical. It will always hold a dear place in my heart. *Once* *Upon a Time *is a very special show."

Lana Parrilla as Regina in 'Once Upon a Time'.

Jack Rowand/ABC

Parrilla then elaborates on why she loved Regina and her complicated backstory so much, noting that the role helped her find growth in her own personal life.

"Regina was a special character, and she was an inspiration to so many people," she reflects. "She started off as this really cold-hearted and hardened woman who was so vengeful. She wanted to hurt people because she was so deeply wounded — and to see her come out at the end as this hero and her journey to get there over the course of seven years was just so admirable.

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"I think a lot of people found strength in her," she concludes. "Their own strength to change their lives and make different choices. She did that for me, too, in many ways. I would read something and go, 'My god, something to learn here.' Her journey healed relationships in my personal life. Just by her choices. So it's beautiful when you can learn something from a character you're portraying."

Parrilla's full episode of *I've Never Said This Before *drops Tuesday morning.

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