Despite the fact that much of Season 4 of ABC’s Once Upon a Time was dedicated to the story arc surrounding Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Lily (Agnes Bruckner), the latter and her mother Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten) were nowhere to be seen in Season 5. Lily was introduced as Emma’s best friend from her foster care years and also turned out to be the long-lost daughter of Maleficent.
But according to co-creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, Season 6 may see the return of the two characters. While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Horowitz hinted at a potential return. He said: "Next season. Oh yeah, we’ll have plans. You’ll see, hopefully they’ll be great."
“I’ll say this, we hear the fans,” said Kitsis in the interview. “We know what stories you feel like we’ve dropped, and we’ve got an episode for you next year.”
One mystery surrounding Lily is the identity of her father. By revealing this tidbit, the creators of the show can potentially unveil a love interest for Maleficent. “We’ve got some plans to try to address many of those things next season,” said Horowitz.
Season 6 will take a different approach compared to previous years, according to the creators. “Next year will not follow the same pattern that we’ve always done,” said Kitsis. “Just when you think you’ve got us, we’re going to change it again.”
“The paradigm for what season six will be is a little bit different than what we've done the last few years, and we're very excited by it. It involves our core group of characters, Storybrooke and flashing back to other realms,” said Horowitz to The Hollywood Reporter. “It doesn't necessarily mean a journey to someplace else. I think at the end of the finale you'll get a little bit of a taste of how we're going to approach it — it's both a little something old and something new.”
Once Upon a Time Season 6 returns to ABC this fall.
