'Once upon a Time' season 6 release date, plot spoilers: Show to return late September 2016, star Lana Parrilla weighs in on regina's fate after tragic loss

ABC's top-rating fairy tale drama series "Once upon a Time" marked the end of season 5 last month with a heart-wrenching finale featuring Robin Hood's death. Regina (Lana Parrilla) will continue to mourn her loved one's tragic loss once the show returns, along with new plot twists to spice up season 6.

In an interview with TV Line, star Lana Parrilla weighed in on how season 6 will play out for her character. "I think mourning will continue, over time," she said. "Regina is a very private person, she doesn't really share a lot of what's going on inside. Internally, she's conflicted by so many things that she doesn't even talk about. So I'm curious to see how she deals with this loss at this stage, at this time in her life. There's been so much evolution, she's come so far, she's been in the shoes of the hero for the last couple of years, so I'm curious to see how she's going to handle this big loss."

Aside from moving forward after her love interest's death, Regina has a whole lot to deal with in the upcoming season. She previously got rid of her dark side, but it became worse after her alter-ego turned out to be the Evil Queen. Talking with Entertainment Weekly, Parrilla expressed her excitement playing two different roles in one show. "The Evil Queen and the hero Regina. So it's gonna be really fun to play both sides in a different way than I have in the previous five seasons 'cause I've always played two sides. She's always been both, but she's never been split," the actress explained.

When asked for what fans would anticipate for next season, Parrilla said: "In Season 6, I think we are going to see some new villains, and some old villains are going to resurface and surprise us in ways that we weren't expecting."

Back in March, the network greenlighted the sixth season for the show. ABC has yet to announce an official premiere date for "Once upon a Time" season 6, but it will likely return sometime in late September 2016.