Summary

• Robin Hood was recast in Once Upon A Time from Tom Ellis to Sean Maguire due to scheduling conflicts.
• Ellis only appeared as Robin Hood in one episode of Once Upon a Time, while Maguire played the character for over 50 episodes.
• Ellis's biggest TV role came later as Lucifer in a show that originally ran on Fox and later on Netflix.

Once Upon A Time primarily centered around Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), who was found by her son Henry Mills (Jared S. Gilmore) after giving him up for adoption years before.

Emma took Henry back to his mother, Regina (Lana Parrilla), who lived in the town of Storybrooke, Maine during the Once Upon a Time pilot. After Regina warned her to stay away from Henry, Emma decided to stay, and Henry quickly shared his theory on how every Storybrooke resident was a fairy-tale character. The audience soon learned that Henry was right and the town's citizens were dragged to the real world and robbed of their memories by Regina, the Evil Queen, and Emma's parents were Snow White and Prince Charming. However, Robin Hood's story was a bit more complex.

Tom Ellis Only Appeared As Robin Hood In Once Upon A Time Season 2

Ellis Played Robin Hood In 1 Episode

Once Upon A Time brought a variety of characters from different fairy tales to Storybrooke, though not exactly the versions that the audience knows through books and certain animated movies. Among those was Robin Hood, played by Tom Ellis. Robin Hood made his first appearance in the ABC show in season 2, specifically in the episode "Lacey."

Robin Hood broke into Rumplestiltskin's castle to steal a magic wand but was caught by Rumple and Belle.

Back in the Enchanted Forest, many years ago, Robin Hood broke into Rumplestiltskin's castle to steal a magic wand but was caught by Rumple and Belle. Robin, confident in his skills and magical bow and arrow, tried to injure Rumple, but the Once Upon a Time villain was smarter than him and locked him up. Belle then let him go, and Rumple forced her to accompany him in hunting down the thief. When they found him, they learned the wand was to heal Robin's pregnant and ill lover, Marian, and Belle convinced Rumple to let him go in the flashback.

Sean Maguire Was Recast As Robin Hood Due To Tom Ellis' Schedule

Ellis Had Other Obligations

Robin Hood returned during the Once Upon A Time season 3 premiere and became a recurring character. However, this time he wasn't played by Tom Ellis. Instead, Sean Maguire took his place as the thief as Ellis was unavailable to return. So, Maguire was brought in because Robin Hood was planned for a recurring arc. At the time, Ellis was a part of the British sitcom Miranda, where he played Gary Preston, and had a minor role in the British mystery drama Agatha Christie's Poirot, and he couldn't commit to a recurring role in Once Upon A Time.

Robin Hood wasn't the only Once Upon a Time character who was recast — Oded Fehr played Jafar in season 6, but Naveen Andrews starred as the villain in the spinoff Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

Following his run as Robin Hood in the Once Upon a Time cast, Maguire played Russell Lightbourne in three episodes of The 100 and Sir Effingham in 10 episodes of The Magicians. Most recently, Maguire starred as Joe in the CBS police procedural series S.W.A.T. As for Ellis, the original Robin Hood actor made a name for himself when he was cast on a popular fantasy TV series in the mid-2010s.

Tom Ellis' Biggest TV Role Came A Few Years Later With Lucifer

Ellis Played The Eponymous Character In Lucifer

A few years after playing Robin Hood in Once Upon a Time, Tom Ellis accepted the role of Lucifer Morningstar in the cast of Lucifer on Fox. The urban fantasy TV series, developed by Tom Kapinos, followed Lucifer, a powerful angel and Heaven reject who was based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Lucifer only ran for three episodes on Fox before the network canceled it. Thankfully, Netflix picked it up, and the show ran for three more seasons on the streaming service before concluding in 2021.

Ultimately, it's for the best that Ellis didn't return as Robin Hood in Once Upon a Time. If he had, it's highly unlikely fans would have seen the actor solving crimes as Lucifer Morningstar, as Ellis would have been busy with the ABC fantasy drama. So, it all worked out for the best for both Ellis and Maguire that Robin Hood was recast in Once Upon a Time.