What's going on with so many villains from ABC's Once Upon a Time's past returning in the second half of season 5?

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Cruella de Vil (Victoria Smurfit) is set to return for multiple episodes in the second half of the season, according to new reports. While she will not be in the show's 100th episode, there will be multiple villains from previous seasons coming back for this landmark episode - Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) and Cora (Barbara Hershey) will return.

Oddly enough, all three of these villains died in the series, so unless they're returning for flashback sequences, the circumstances of their return are questionable. One working theory many fans are considering is that our heroes will be visiting Hell, or some type of Underworld.

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This was sparked by the casting of Greg Germann as The Distinguished Gentleman, whose character description sounds a whole lot like Hades, the villain of Hercules and noted god of the Underworld. Germann also has a similarly angular face that Hades has in the 1997 animated film.

So what could bring our heroes to the pits of Hell/the Underworld? Well, considering the themes of darkness present in the first half of the season, it isn't entirely out of the question.

Either way, the second half of the season will be a blast from the past for longtime fans of Once Upon a Time, with all your favorite villains showing up in some capacity!

Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Tags: Once Upon A Time television ABC