So far Once Upon a Time season 2 has given us Hook, Mulan, the Queen of Hearts and Frankenstein. These are the characters from fairytales and literature we want to see next!

Before season 2 of Once Upon a Time began airing, Hypable released a top 10 list of fairytale characters we wanted to see on the show – including Hook and Mulan, who have both appeared.

Since then, we have also received hints that both Aladdin and the Little Mermaid will be appearing sooner or later. It is also likely that we’ll be seeing Peter Pan – but we’re still waiting on some of the others like Robin Hood, the Pied Piper of Hamelin and the Sandman!

Now that the story has opened up more and we know that characters from classic literature like Frankenstein are likely to appear as well, here’s our new list of characters we’d like to see next.

Note: We realize that half of these would never be able to appear on the show, and that the other half would be very silly indeed – but it’s a wishlist, we’re dreaming big.

Dracula

Since we already have Frankenstein and zombies, it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch to imagine that Once Upon a Time will eventually bring in vampires – and specifically Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula.

What would make Dracula a unique addition to the show would be that, no matter what context, this character will always have a unique timelessness which might nicely contrast the modernisation of a lot of the stories already adapted for Once Upon a Time.

When Dracula appeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he felt very out of place, this posh and traditional persona trying to keep the old ways alive in the postmodern, fast paced Sunnydale setting. And he ended up looking a bit ridiculous, clearly out of his element.

He’d fit right in on Once Upon a Time, where the tone is light and slightly over-the-top, to give the show a real fairytale feel. And we can imagine some hilarious scenes where he and Hook try to out-swagger each other.

Sherlock Holmes

How could Once Upon a Time resist introducing Arthur Conan Doyle’s immortal legend, Sherlock Holmes himself? Especially seeing as the character is currently experiencing an unprecedented popularity in pop culture what with the movies, the Sherlock series and Elementary.

Sherlock Holmes would be an interesting addition to Once because, like Frankenstein, he is very decidedly not from any land that could be considered fairytale-y. A classic gentleman from Victorian-era London, he’d be a right sight in modern-day Storybrooke, and with his handy detective skills, couldn’t you just see him working with Emma trying to solve Sheriff cases?

Introducing Sherlock Holmes would probably be the smartest move Once Upon a Time could make in terms of bringing in new audiences to the show right now, but if they do it, we hope they manage to make their version of the character stand out from Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Lee Miller’s portrayals.

Hercules

We have already seen echoes of the Hercules story on Once Upon a Time (most notably when the characters entered the underworld full of fire), but so far, the show has largely stayed away from mythological figures and themes. Enough of that, we say; give us some Greek Mythology, Percy Jackson style!

There is so much scope both for humour and drama by delving fully into this genre: cyclopes and demigods, Troy, and of course the origin story for King Midas (who has already appeared in the show). And Hercules, we think, would be a particularly interesting character to explore. He is half human, half god, and his strength is legendary, yet as the Disney version has shown us, he has a lot of faults and doubts about himself, too.

Maybe if they go back to the underworld later in the show we’ll find out that it’s actually Hades there, and we’ll see Hercules trying to lead Meg out without looking back at her…

Merlin

We need a powerful force in Storybrooke/fairytale land who, for once, fights on the good side. Seeing as we’ve already had Lancelot (played by Sinqua Walls), it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine more characters from Arthurian Legend appearing in the future, and while we’d love to see King Arthur and Queen Guinevere appear too, we think the old and wise wizard Merlin would be the most interesting.

Finally, here’d be a person who could fight Rumpelstiltskin on his own terms. Magic wielders, other than Emma, have so far mostly been seen as evil and corrupted, but we know that every coin has two sides. Merlin might appear in Storybrooke to teach Emma how to wield her magic, or we might see him fighting alongside Snow and Charming to defeat Regina. Either way, we hope they cast Colin Morgan in the role – he’ll be looking for a job.

Santa Claus

Um, ok, so Christmas is over. But we’ve got it on good authority that there’ll be another one next year. And talk about classic fairytale characters, are we right?!

How epic of a holiday episode could Once Upon a Time pull off if they actually had Santa Claus appear? The show has a number of different children that have gone through some horrible ordeals – Henry, Grace and Hansel and Gretel, for example – and we could see the adults calling upon an old friend to restore their faith in Christmas.

So many other dramas have had holiday specials, and it would be perfect for a feel-good family show like Once Upon a Time. Plus, we can’t help but wonder what kinds of neat twists they might put on Santa’s backstory… are we talking The Santa Clause, here? We need to know.

The Wicked Witch (Elphaba)

We’ve already seen Regina and Cora cross over so many stories, but hopefully neither of them will be revealed to also be the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. First of all, she’s supposed to be green, y’all. Secondly, there’s so much potential for this character both as a humorous villain and/or a reluctant hero – or maybe we’re just thinking of Wicked again, but hey, why not bring in some musical themes to Once Upon a Time?

Elphaba could provide the humour, if given the right lines and played by the right actress, while still being evil and foreboding. If the show decides to spend a lot of time in Oz, we could potentially see an interesting backstory develop for her, and to see more of her history with the Wizard, the Good Witch and Dorothy. They’re all characters we’re dying to meet, but Elphaba would probably be the most interesting!

…And yeah, okay, maybe we do just want to see Idina Menzel appear on Once Upon a Time, what of it?

Pocahontas

Alright, Once writers. You’ve given us Mulan, now where is Pocahontas?

Some fans believe that Pocahontas, being a real historical figure, has no place on a fantasy show like Once Upon a Time. But technically Mulan was a real person too (at least she is a legend based in fact), and we see no reason why Once can’t pay homage to some of the more romanticized figures in history – taking a page out of Doctor Who‘s book, perhaps.

In fairytale land, Pocahontas would be the beautiful princess inhabiting the forest, fighting for her people and what was right. She might join forces with the good side against Regina, or she might find herself stuck in between the two sides, unable to ally herself and her people with either of them. Either way, it would be interesting to see her appear on the show, especially if she got to have scenes with Mulan, Red, Snow, or any of the other strong female characters.

Wendy

While we have already requested Peter Pan, we’d also very much like to see Wendy. Because like Sherlock Holmes, Wendy would come from the real world, not fairytale land, a version of London which we’d be very curious to see how they’d work into the show.

Actually, what we would really like to see them do with Wendy would be a sort of reverse curse storyline: like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Wendy finds herself transported out of the real world and into a magical realm. In this case, Neverland.

Seeing as how Once Upon a Time has established the real world as a separate universe from fairytale land, and how the characters primarily travel through worlds using magical beans, Wendy’s story suddenly becomes very interesting: how does she get to Neverland? Does she ever go back to London, or does she stay in Neverland forever? What if we find her still there, in present day, having acclimated to the magical world, and she doesn’t want to return to reality? Or what if she does, only to find herself in present day with her family long dead? The possibilities are endless.

Woody

Much like Sherlock Holmes, a good old-fashioned cowboy would be just what the show needed – especially because we already see Prince Charming very much like a cowboy, and the town’s got a sheriff, so why not? Let’s have a western-themed episode, Supernatural style, and get our denim on.

And even better: let’s put a cowboy toy on Once Upon a Time. Toy Story is one of the most beloved Pixar franchises, and it stands to reason that the show would want to honour the movies in some way, maybe even just with the dolls somewhere in Mr. Gold’s shop. But we’d much prefer to see them interact with the other characters, maybe even turn human like Pinocchio (why not? We know that the show likes to overlap stories and themes).

This would be an example of Once Upon a Time borrowing not just from books but from movies, too. The licensing would probably be a nightmare, but if they could make it work it would be a sight to behold. (Thanks to EllieActive for her cowboy suggestion!)

Mushu

This is one of the most beloved characters in Disney, and many Once Upon a Time fans hope to see some form of Mulan’s trusted companion.

Considering that we’ve seen both Beauty & the Beast‘s Chip and Cinderella‘s Gus-Gus (…sob), perhaps we will see Mushu in some form or another. Maybe, like Jiminy Cricket, he was once a human turned into a dragon to serve as Mulan’s conscience.

But then again, he probably won’t be voiced by Eddie Murphy.

Han Solo

When we heard that Disney bought Star Wars, well… it opened up a lot of possibilities. Not least that we could potentially see the characters appear on Once Upon a Time. Wouldn’t it be fun to randomly have the Millennium Falcon land in Storybrooke? Space is a whole new frontier, and this show would just be crazy enough to do it.

This suggestion might be a bit on the ridiculous side, but it just proves how many options Once Upon a Time actually has for expanding the story in any way the writers seem fit. Maybe by season 8, we’ll find ourselves attacking the Death Star. (Thanks to AlexandraDunbar for this suggestion.)

What characters from books, movies and fairytales would you most like to see on future episodes of Once Upon a Time?