There is a wealth of comic book adaptations on television or planned to hit the silver screen in the coming months - everything ranging from The CW’s DC Comics superhero multiverse to iZombie and AMC’s Preacher. One beloved and classic comic book character receiving an adaptation is Archie Andrews, who has been around for over 70 years. In a new adaptation by Arrowverse architect Greg Berlanti, the famous Archie Comics characters will appear on television in Riverdale.
The show was first developed for Fox before switching to The CW, which officially picked up the Riverdale pilot earlier this year and began casting. Now, Riverdale has cast some of its most iconic characters, including Archie himself.
Deadline is reporting Riverdale has cast newcomers KJ Apa as Archie Andrews and Ashleigh Murray as Josie (from Josie and the Pussycats). Deadline is also reporting that fellow newcomers Madelaine Petsch will play Cheryl Blossom and Camila Mendes will be Veronica Lodge. The actors join previously cast Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, and Luke Perry as Fred Andrews. Additionally, Deadline offered character breakdowns as they would appear in Riverdale:
Apa’s Archie Andrews is an intense, conflicted teen, a boyish high school sophomore who got pumped up over the summer working construction and is now juggling the interest of several girls, as well as trying to balance his passion for writing and performing music — against the wishes of his father and his football coach.
Murray’s Josie is a gorgeous, snooty and ambitious girl who is the lead singer for popular band Josie and the Pussycats. She has zero interest in recording any songs written by fellow teen Archie.
Mendes’ intelligent and confident Veronica Lodge is a silver-tongued high school sophomore who returns to Riverdale from New York, eager to reinvent herself after a scandal involving her father.
Petsch’s Cheryl Blossom is rich, entitled and never accountable. A manipulative mean girl who kills with kindness, she recently lost her twin brother in a mysterious accident.
The character descriptions - and casting choices themselves - make it clear that The CW’s Riverdale won’t be a true adaptation of the classic versions of these characters. For instance, Apa’s Archie is a “pumped up” and “conflicted” teen with interest in music as well as football - a long way from his original comic iteration of the ’40s and ’50s. Additionally, the other character descriptions may not sound familiar to those who grew up reading Archie Comics.
However that doesn’t necessarily mean Riverdale’s versions of these iconic characters are a complete departure from every iteration of the Archie cast. The Archie of Riverdale certainly falls in line with the recent All-New Archie Comics series from writer Mark Waid and artist Fiona Staples - which does feature an acoustic guitar-toting, letterman jacket-wearing Archie.
Of course, this casting news and these character descriptions do lend Riverdale toward what viewers would think of as typical CW fare - young actors, high school drama, love triangles, etc. But, the show is pulling inspiration from the Archie Comics as well - just a newer series. Still, whether Berlanti will find as much success with Riverdale as he has with his other comic book adaptations, remains to be seen.
Screen Rant will keep you updated on Riverdale as development continues.
Source: Deadline 1, 2, 3
