And The Next Villain Coming to 'OUAT' Is...

Once Upon a Time's season four is getting more attention than any season before it because of the showrunners' plan to introduce Elsa and Anna from Frozen to Once Upon a Time 's universe. However, the Frozen cast is only coming for a story arc that will take up the first half of the season. The second half of the season will focus on a different plot line and villain. While we've all been trying to figure out as many details about the Frozen plot as we possibly could, the second half of season four might be another full movie reference. Kristin Bauer van Straten is reprising her role as Maleficent on OUAT as a "reoccuring guest star in a big role" and I think I've figured it out already.

After Frozen, the biggest fairy tale blockbuster to hit the theaters was Angelina Jolie's Maleficent, a dark fantasy film that delved into Maleficent's background with a feminist-friendly plot that turned the entire Sleeping Beauty storyline on its head. Considering Once Upon a Time essentially dropped a bombshell by incorporating Frozen, which only came out in November 2013, is it any surprise that they'd want to incorporate Maleficent even though it came out in May 2014?

Once Upon a Time's Maleficent has definitely got beef with the Storybrooke gang, specifically Regina Mills aka The Evil Queen. Maleficent was once Regina's only friend and she is the one who gave Regina the Sleeping Curse that took out Snow White before the pilot. However, when Snow White was awoken by True Love's Kiss, Regina returned to Maleficent and wiped the floor with her to gain ownership of the Dark Curse that kicked off the whole plot. Maleficent was then brought to Storybrooke, trapped beneath the clocktower in dragon form, until she was defeated by Emma Swan. She later returned in zombie form beneath the same clocktower and hasn't been heard from since.

So, yeah, at this point Maleficent has about as much of a reason as a person can have for wanting the main cast dead without secretly being related to them. (Unless, of course, she's revealed to be secretly related them now that she has the chance of being a main player.) The real question is how much of the plot of Jolie's Maleficent will make it onto Once Upon a Time. The Frozen storyline was set after the events of the film, but is OUAT going to adapt Maleficent's plot with any or all of the show's events as the reason for Maleficent's descent into evil? Are we going to see her make peace with Sleeping Beauty? How did she get out from under the clocktower?

The first half of season three was connected to the second half of season three by the casting of a new curse that took Storybrooke from one age into another, but what connects Frozen and Maleficent has yet to be revealed. Perhaps the final battle with Elsa (or Hans) destroys the clocktower and allows Maleficent to fly free from the cave beneath. Maybe Anna is trapped in a Sleeping Curse that Regina is wrongfully blamed for and they need Maleficent's help to remove it. Maybe Elsa and Anna are long gone by the time Maleficent ever sets a human foot on the Storybrooke streets. The only thing we know for sure is that season four is going to be the best Once Upon a Time season yet.

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