Although Once Upon A Time and Manifest have very different storylines, they do share a few things in common.
Firstly, despite having fantastical elements, real-world family drama plays a major role as a contrast. Perhaps a more obvious commonality is actor Josh Dallas.
Dallas played David Nolan/Prince Charming on Once Upon A Time for six seasons, returning for the seventh season finale. He has played Ben Stone on Manifest since late 2018.
That being said, stars of former shows reuniting on different projects is nothing new. Cornelius Smith Jr. recently joined former Scandal co-star Joe Morton’s CBS series God Friended Me. Freaks and Geeks castmates Jason Segel and Martin Starr reunited on How I Met Your Mother.
So, could anyone from Once Upon A Time join Manifest?
Theoretically, yes. Most of the major cast members are not tied down to television shows, which makes their schedules more open than they were as recently as three years ago.
Of course, the most obvious choice to appear would be Ginnifer Goodwin. Not only did she play Snow White opposite Dallas’ Prince Charming on Once, the two also married and had two children in real life.
Dallas and Goodwin have previously said that they are looking for ways in which the latter could guest star on Manifest. The fun would be whether she plays someone that her husband’s character knows, or a stranger. Friend or foe?
Aside from Goodwin, other Once Upon A Time cast members whom Dallas worked closely with include Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan), Lana Parrilla (Regina Mills/Evil Queen), Jared S. Gilmore (Henry Mills), Colin O’Donoghue (Captain Hook) and Robert Carlyle (Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin).
Then, of course, there are the wildcards such as Sean Maguire (Robin Hood), Emilie de Ravin (Belle), Rebecca Mader (Zelena/Wicked Witch of the West) and Michael Raymond-James (Baelfire/Neal Cassidy).
Since Once Upon A Time ended, Morrison has recurred on This Is Us as army veteran Cassidy Sharp in what appears to be a major recurring role. However, this show is on the same network as Manifest so a Morrison appearance could be made possible if necessary.
Michael Raymond-James is also heading to NBC with his new pilot La Brea. Who’s to say that he couldn’t drop in on his former co-star Josh Dallas?
Whether anyone will brave the tumultuous lives of the Flight 828 remains to be seen. Any reunion would surely be poignant for fans of Once Upon A Time.
Manifest airs Mondays on NBC.
