The Once Upon a Time show runners pulled a fast one on fans regarding the casting of Merida.

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Merida (main character of Disney/Pixar's Brave) will be featured in season 5 of Once Upon a Time. This is the character the producers were hoping to cast for recently when they said they were casting for Rumple's (Robert Carlyle) mom. Described as the "stunningly beautiful" Evanna, the character is "plucky, strong and imbued with an unshakeable sense of self-confidence."

But Merida is not Rumple's mom. In fact, OUAT producers only said they were casting for the character's mother to throw people off that they were actually casting for Merida.

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"The only way to throw the press off and our fans off of this being Merida was to say we're casting Rumple's mother," OUAT executive producer Edward Kitsis told Entertainment Weekly recently. "It honestly worked because for once, this was not spoiled."

Merida will be played by actress Amy Manson in the new season.

Fans will meet Merida through Emma (Jennifer Morrison), Kitsis said, with fellow EP Adam Horowitz adding: "It's certainly a part of Emma's journey as the Dark Swan and dealing with her darkness. All that is tied with how we explore the world of Camelot this year."

Eventually Rumple's mom will be introduced, according to Kitsis, but that time has not yet come.

Once Upon a Time season 5 premieres Sunday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Tags: Once Upon A Time television ABC