Once Upon a Time: Belle Will Be Back

Following yesterday's Once Upon a Time panel at San Diego Comic-Con, in which showrunners promised the doors would be open for some of the series originals who've left ahead of its seventh season, at least one departing cast member has already inked the dotted line to ensure her return.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Emilie de Ravin has signed up for at least one more stint of OUAT -- and yes, there was probably a price, as Rumple would say -- to offer an update as to what's been happening with Belle in the fourth episode.

De Ravin announced her decision to leave OUAT -- alongside fellow series originals Josh Dallas, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, and Jared Gilmore -- but her on-screen love/loath interest, Robert Carlyle's Rumple, will remain along with Colin O'Donoghue's Hook, Lana Parilla's Regina.

As footage from the new season screened at SDCC showed, the series will jump ahead in time and present a new locale for Henry (now played by Andrew J. West), who's recruited by his daughter Lucy (Alison Fernandez) to step back into the realm of magic. Newcomers to the series include Dania Ramirez as a revamped version of Cinderella, Mekia Cox as Tiana, and Rose Reynolds as Alice.

Once Upon a Time will return to ABC for its seventh season on Friday, Oct. 6 at 8/7c.