diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index 3b90dff5c82..06748249fb8 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
         "doctrine/collections": "~1.2",
         "doctrine/dbal": ">=2.5-dev,<2.6-dev",
         "doctrine/instantiator": "~1.0.1",
+        "doctrine/common": ">=2.5-dev,<2.6-dev",
         "symfony/console": "~2.5"
     },
     "require-dev": {
diff --git a/docs/en/reference/events.rst b/docs/en/reference/events.rst
index 65acd246602..6ec2f092db3 100644
--- a/docs/en/reference/events.rst
+++ b/docs/en/reference/events.rst
@@ -173,6 +173,10 @@ the life-time of their registered entities.
 -  loadClassMetadata - The loadClassMetadata event occurs after the
    mapping metadata for a class has been loaded from a mapping source
    (annotations/xml/yaml). This event is not a lifecycle callback.
+-  onClassMetadataNotFound - Loading class metadata for a particular
+   requested class name failed. Manipulating the given event args instance
+   allows providing fallback metadata even when no actual metadata exists
+   or could be found. This event is not a lifecycle callback.
 -  preFlush - The preFlush event occurs at the very beginning of a flush
    operation. This event is not a lifecycle callback.
 -  onFlush - The onFlush event occurs after the change-sets of all
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Event/OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Event/OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..155b1baf671
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Event/OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs.php
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+<?php
+/*
+ * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
+ * "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+ * LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
+ * A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
+ * OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+ * SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+ * LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
+ * DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
+ * THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
+ * (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
+ * OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
+ *
+ * This software consists of voluntary contributions made by many individuals
+ * and is licensed under the MIT license. For more information, see
+ * <http://www.doctrine-project.org>.
+ */
+
+namespace Doctrine\ORM\Event;
+
+use Doctrine\Common\EventArgs;
+use Doctrine\Common\Persistence\Event\ManagerEventArgs;
+use Doctrine\Common\Persistence\Mapping\ClassMetadata;
+use Doctrine\Common\Persistence\ObjectManager;
+use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManager;
+use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManagerInterface;
+
+/**
+ * Class that holds event arguments for a `onClassMetadataNotFound` event.
+ *
+ * This object is mutable by design, allowing callbacks having access to it to set the
+ * found metadata in it, and therefore "cancelling" a `onClassMetadataNotFound` event
+ *
+ * @author Marco Pivetta <ocramius@gmail.com>
+ * @since  2.5
+ */
+class OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs extends ManagerEventArgs
+{
+    /**
+     * @var string
+     */
+    private $className;
+
+    /**
+     * @var ClassMetadata|null
+     */
+    private $foundMetadata;
+
+    /**
+     * Constructor.
+     *
+     * @param string        $className
+     * @param ObjectManager $objectManager
+     */
+    public function __construct($className, ObjectManager $objectManager)
+    {
+        $this->className = (string) $className;
+
+        parent::__construct($objectManager);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param ClassMetadata|null $classMetadata
+     */
+    public function setFoundMetadata(ClassMetadata $classMetadata = null)
+    {
+        $this->foundMetadata = $classMetadata;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return ClassMetadata|null
+     */
+    public function getFoundMetadata()
+    {
+        return $this->foundMetadata;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Retrieve class name for which a failed metadata fetch attempt was executed
+     *
+     * @return string
+     */
+    public function getClassName()
+    {
+        return $this->className;
+    }
+}
+
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Events.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Events.php
index 8c13fa2d56a..e16b47a4214 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Events.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Events.php
@@ -120,6 +120,14 @@ private function __construct()
      */
     const loadClassMetadata = 'loadClassMetadata';
 
+    /**
+     * The onClassMetadataNotFound event occurs whenever loading metadata for a class
+     * failed.
+     *
+     * @var string
+     */
+    const onClassMetadataNotFound = 'onClassMetadataNotFound';
+
     /**
      * The preFlush event occurs when the EntityManager#flush() operation is invoked,
      * but before any changes to managed entities have been calculated. This event is
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Mapping/ClassMetadataFactory.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Mapping/ClassMetadataFactory.php
index 79e2fc8ded0..dd65c39323d 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Mapping/ClassMetadataFactory.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Mapping/ClassMetadataFactory.php
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 use Doctrine\DBAL\Platforms;
 use Doctrine\ORM\EntityManagerInterface;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Event\LoadClassMetadataEventArgs;
+use Doctrine\ORM\Event\OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Events;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Id\BigIntegerIdentityGenerator;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Id\IdentityGenerator;
@@ -78,7 +79,7 @@ public function setEntityManager(EntityManagerInterface $em)
     }
 
     /**
-     * {@inheritDoc}.
+     * {@inheritDoc}
      */
     protected function initialize()
     {
@@ -88,6 +89,22 @@ protected function initialize()
         $this->initialized = true;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    protected function onNotFoundMetadata($className)
+    {
+        if (! $this->evm->hasListeners(Events::onClassMetadataNotFound)) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        $eventArgs = new OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs($className, $this->em);
+
+        $this->evm->dispatchEvent(Events::onClassMetadataNotFound, $eventArgs);
+
+        return $eventArgs->getFoundMetadata();
+    }
+
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
diff --git a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Tools/ResolveTargetEntityListener.php b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Tools/ResolveTargetEntityListener.php
index e193ae2e3e7..574c9c28e12 100644
--- a/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Tools/ResolveTargetEntityListener.php
+++ b/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Tools/ResolveTargetEntityListener.php
@@ -20,7 +20,10 @@
 namespace Doctrine\ORM\Tools;
 
 use Doctrine\ORM\Event\LoadClassMetadataEventArgs;
+use Doctrine\ORM\Event\OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\ClassMetadata;
+use Doctrine\Common\EventSubscriber;
+use Doctrine\ORM\Events;
 
 /**
  * ResolveTargetEntityListener
@@ -31,13 +34,24 @@
  * @author Benjamin Eberlei <kontakt@beberlei.de>
  * @since 2.2
  */
-class ResolveTargetEntityListener
+class ResolveTargetEntityListener implements EventSubscriber
 {
     /**
-     * @var array
+     * @var array[] indexed by original entity name
      */
     private $resolveTargetEntities = array();
 
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    public function getSubscribedEvents()
+    {
+        return array(
+            Events::loadClassMetadata,
+            Events::onClassMetadataNotFound
+        );
+    }
+
     /**
      * Adds a target-entity class name to resolve to a new class name.
      *
@@ -49,19 +63,40 @@ class ResolveTargetEntityListener
      */
     public function addResolveTargetEntity($originalEntity, $newEntity, array $mapping)
     {
-        $mapping['targetEntity'] = ltrim($newEntity, "\\");
+        $mapping['targetEntity']                                   = ltrim($newEntity, "\\");
         $this->resolveTargetEntities[ltrim($originalEntity, "\\")] = $mapping;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @param OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs $args
+     *
+     * @internal this is an event callback, and should not be called directly
+     *
+     * @return void
+     */
+    public function onClassMetadataNotFound(OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs $args)
+    {
+        if (array_key_exists($args->getClassName(), $this->resolveTargetEntities)) {
+            $args->setFoundMetadata(
+                $args
+                    ->getObjectManager()
+                    ->getClassMetadata($this->resolveTargetEntities[$args->getClassname()]['targetEntity'])
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Processes event and resolves new target entity names.
      *
      * @param LoadClassMetadataEventArgs $args
      *
      * @return void
+     *
+     * @internal this is an event callback, and should not be called directly
      */
     public function loadClassMetadata(LoadClassMetadataEventArgs $args)
     {
+        /* @var $cm \Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\ClassMetadata */
         $cm = $args->getClassMetadata();
 
         foreach ($cm->associationMappings as $mapping) {
@@ -69,6 +104,12 @@ public function loadClassMetadata(LoadClassMetadataEventArgs $args)
                 $this->remapAssociation($cm, $mapping);
             }
         }
+
+        foreach ($this->resolveTargetEntities as $interface => $data) {
+            if ($data['targetEntity'] == $cm->getName()) {
+                $args->getEntityManager()->getMetadataFactory()->setMetadataFor($interface, $cm);
+            }
+        }
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Event/OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgsTest.php b/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Event/OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgsTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3aad1c04cc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Event/OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgsTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Doctrine\Tests\ORM;
+
+use Doctrine\ORM\Event\OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs;
+use PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase;
+
+/**
+ * Tests for {@see \Doctrine\ORM\Event\OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs}
+ *
+ * @covers \Doctrine\ORM\Event\OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs
+ */
+class OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgsTest extends PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase
+{
+    public function testEventArgsMutability()
+    {
+        /* @var $objectManager \Doctrine\Common\Persistence\ObjectManager */
+        $objectManager = $this->getMock('Doctrine\Common\Persistence\ObjectManager');
+
+        $args = new OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs('foo', $objectManager);
+
+        $this->assertSame('foo', $args->getClassName());
+        $this->assertSame($objectManager, $args->getObjectManager());
+
+        $this->assertNull($args->getFoundMetadata());
+
+        /* @var $metadata \Doctrine\Common\Persistence\Mapping\ClassMetadata */
+        $metadata = $this->getMock('Doctrine\Common\Persistence\Mapping\ClassMetadata');
+
+        $args->setFoundMetadata($metadata);
+
+        $this->assertSame($metadata, $args->getFoundMetadata());
+
+        $args->setFoundMetadata(null);
+
+        $this->assertNull($args->getFoundMetadata());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Mapping/ClassMetadataFactoryTest.php b/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Mapping/ClassMetadataFactoryTest.php
index e87d4dc516d..54d2c9eac01 100644
--- a/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Mapping/ClassMetadataFactoryTest.php
+++ b/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Mapping/ClassMetadataFactoryTest.php
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 namespace Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Mapping;
 
+use Doctrine\ORM\Event\OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs;
+use Doctrine\ORM\Events;
 use Doctrine\Tests\Mocks\MetadataDriverMock;
 use Doctrine\Tests\Mocks\EntityManagerMock;
 use Doctrine\Tests\Mocks\ConnectionMock;
@@ -322,6 +324,40 @@ public function testQuoteMetadata()
         $this->assertEquals('group-id', $groups['joinTable']['inverseJoinColumns'][0]['referencedColumnName']);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * @group DDC-3385
+     * @group 1181
+     * @group 385
+     */
+    public function testFallbackLoadingCausesEventTriggeringThatCanModifyFetchedMetadata()
+    {
+        $test          = $this;
+        /* @var $metadata \Doctrine\Common\Persistence\Mapping\ClassMetadata */
+        $metadata      = $this->getMock('Doctrine\Common\Persistence\Mapping\ClassMetadata');
+        $cmf           = new ClassMetadataFactory();
+        $mockDriver    = new MetadataDriverMock();
+        $em = $this->_createEntityManager($mockDriver);
+        $listener      = $this->getMock('stdClass', array('onClassMetadataNotFound'));
+        $eventManager  = $em->getEventManager();
+
+        $cmf->setEntityManager($em);
+
+        $listener
+            ->expects($this->any())
+            ->method('onClassMetadataNotFound')
+            ->will($this->returnCallback(function (OnClassMetadataNotFoundEventArgs $args) use ($metadata, $em, $test) {
+                $test->assertNull($args->getFoundMetadata());
+                $test->assertSame('Foo', $args->getClassName());
+                $test->assertSame($em, $args->getObjectManager());
+
+                $args->setFoundMetadata($metadata);
+            }));
+
+        $eventManager->addEventListener(array(Events::onClassMetadataNotFound), $listener);
+
+        $this->assertSame($metadata, $cmf->getMetadataFor('Foo'));
+    }
+
     /**
      * @group DDC-3427
      */
diff --git a/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Tools/ResolveTargetEntityListenerTest.php b/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Tools/ResolveTargetEntityListenerTest.php
index 3b42196231e..fdee6e8c2f1 100644
--- a/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Tools/ResolveTargetEntityListenerTest.php
+++ b/tests/Doctrine/Tests/ORM/Tools/ResolveTargetEntityListenerTest.php
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 
 namespace Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools;
 
-use Doctrine\ORM\Events;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping\ClassMetadataFactory;
 use Doctrine\ORM\Tools\ResolveTargetEntityListener;
+use Doctrine\ORM\Events;
 
 class ResolveTargetEntityListenerTest extends \Doctrine\Tests\OrmTestCase
 {
@@ -29,9 +29,8 @@ public function setUp()
 
         $this->em = $this->_getTestEntityManager();
         $this->em->getConfiguration()->setMetadataDriverImpl($annotationDriver);
-        $this->factory = new ClassMetadataFactory;
-        $this->factory->setEntityManager($this->em);
-        $this->listener = new ResolveTargetEntityListener;
+        $this->factory = $this->em->getMetadataFactory();
+        $this->listener = new ResolveTargetEntityListener();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -50,13 +49,37 @@ public function testResolveTargetEntityListenerCanResolveTargetEntity()
             'Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\TargetEntity',
             array()
         );
-        $evm->addEventListener(Events::loadClassMetadata, $this->listener);
-        $cm = $this->factory->getMetadataFor('Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\ResolveTargetEntity');
+        $evm->addEventSubscriber($this->listener);
+
+        $cm   = $this->factory->getMetadataFor('Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\ResolveTargetEntity');
         $meta = $cm->associationMappings;
+
         $this->assertSame('Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\TargetEntity', $meta['manyToMany']['targetEntity']);
         $this->assertSame('Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\ResolveTargetEntity', $meta['manyToOne']['targetEntity']);
         $this->assertSame('Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\ResolveTargetEntity', $meta['oneToMany']['targetEntity']);
         $this->assertSame('Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\TargetEntity', $meta['oneToOne']['targetEntity']);
+
+        $this->assertSame($cm, $this->factory->getMetadataFor('Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\ResolveTargetInterface'));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @group DDC-3385
+     * @group 1181
+     * @group 385
+     */
+    public function testResolveTargetEntityListenerCanRetrieveTargetEntityByInterfaceName()
+    {
+        $this->listener->addResolveTargetEntity(
+            'Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\ResolveTargetInterface',
+            'Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\ResolveTargetEntity',
+            array()
+        );
+
+        $this->em->getEventManager()->addEventSubscriber($this->listener);
+
+        $cm = $this->factory->getMetadataFor('Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\ResolveTargetInterface');
+
+        $this->assertSame($this->factory->getMetadataFor('Doctrine\Tests\ORM\Tools\ResolveTargetEntity'), $cm);
     }
 
     /**