Emilie de Ravin is the latest of Once Upon a Time‘s exiting cast members to reach out to and thank fans for their support over the years.
On Friday afternoon, Once creators Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz confirmed that de Ravin, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Jared Gilmore and Rebecca Mader — plus of course series lead Jennifer Morrison — will not be series regulars for the recently ordered Season 7.
As such, the new season will focus on the characters played by de Ravin’s scene partner, Robert Carlyle, Lana Parrilla and Colin O’Donoghue, plus new additions Andrew J. West (The Walking Dead) and 11-year-old Alison Fernandez (Jane the Virgin).
“While I would have loved to continue exploring Belle’s journey, the show has decided to move in a different creative direction,” the Australian Lost alum posted a message to fans via Instagram. wrote, alluding to the “reset” on tap for Season 7. She then offered a “massive thank you to all the fans for your incredible love and support towards me and this character…. It’s been an honor and a privilege to bring Belle to life.”
Though not an original cast member, de Ravin made her Once debut midway through Season 1, as Belle, the beauty to Rumplestiltskin’s beast.
