The Once Upon a Time bosses must be very pleased with Dolin O’Donoghue’s appearance as Captain Hook, because the actor has been promoted to a regular!

O’Donoghue is scheduled to make his first appearance in the upcoming episode “The Crocodile.” We’ll see his origin story and learn what happens when he crosses Rumpelstiltskin in a flashback, and apparently Hook will also be showing up in the present-day fairytale land to cause trouble (and maybe more!) for Emma and Snow.

EW now reports that the character will join Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and Ruby (Meghan Ory) as a recently promoted series regular, although he was originally scheduled to be a recurring character. We guess they liked what they saw from him – and hopefully you will, too:

This picture, also released by EW, is from a flashback, showing Hook before “certain things happen” – such as losing his hand, perhaps? So at this point, maybe he is not yet a villain, or maybe he is still waiting for the time to strike.

We can’t wait to meet him on the show, and to find out whether Donoghue will be more Dustin Hoffman or Captain Jack Sparrow in his portrayal of the legendary pirate.

What do you think Hook’s role will be in the present day? Will he primarily exist as a new villain who Snow and Emma have to defeat before they can return to fairytale land, or will he become more of a grudging ally? Considering that the writers will be introducing a few love interests for her this season, could Captain Hook be among them?

“The Crocodile” is the fourth episode of Once Upon a Time‘s second season, and airs on October 21. This Sunday’s episode “We Are Both” delves into Regina’s backstory to show her first meeting with Rumpelstiltskin and how she first learns magic. Meanwhile, Emma and Snow’s fairytale adventure begins!