Sebastian Roche Joins 'Once Upon A Time' as 'Maleficent' Character

Once Upon A Time is dipping deeper into the Disney well. The winter finale featured the introduction of the Queens of Darkness: Cruella De Vil, Maleficent and Ursula. And now, the second half of Season 4 will feature an evil King as well.

Sebastian Roche has joined the cast of Once Upon A Time in the role of King Stefan, the villainous king from this past summer's smash hit, Maleficent. He's not only the father of Princess Aurora (Sarah Bolger), but -- as in the movie -- he has a bit of a complicated history with Maleficent (Kristin Bauer Van Straten) herself.

It's uncertain just how far into the film's lore this storyline will go, but given Once Upon A Time's penchant for humanizing its villains, it wouldn't surprise me if we end up getting a smaller scale version of the movie's tragic backstory.

But Roche, a star of The CW's The Originals, isn't the only big papa coming to Once Upon A Time, as Ernie Hudson was recently cast as Poseidon, the father of Ursula (Merrin Dungey). Will the dads cross paths, maybe get together and share whatever passes for beer in the Enchanted Forest? Well, probably not. But we're excited just the same.

Once Upon A Time returns for Season 4b on Sunday, March 1, 2015 on ABC.

H/T: Entertainment Weekly

Credit: The CW