Is KJ Apa leaving Riverdale, and is Archie Andrews really dead?

Riverdale, Archie

Is KJ Apa leaving Riverdale? Is this show actually going to move forward without Archie Andrews at the center of it?

We know that this is a crazy thing to think about, mostly because where is the world of Archie Comics without Archie himself? Yet, we definitely saw Archie get killed in a pretty horrifying fashion during Part 1 of the Rivervale event — something that will play out further over the next few weeks. We didn’t expect Cheryl to do this, but we also think that the rest of this season is going to bring us PLENTY of surprises with this character.

While nothing is confirmed at present, let’s just say this: We’d be shocked if Apa is actually leaving Riverdale for good. Remember that the actor recently became a father, so this “death” could just be a way of giving him some paternity leave. Remember here that Rivervale is technically an alternate reality, and the creation of it feels largely like a way for the producers to pay homage to some more macabre comics that have been created over the years — it also has to be fun for the cast to do something a little bit different. By the time this event concludes in the new year, we imagine that we’ll see the whole gang back together — we’ll have to see what carries over.

Just in case you thought that Archie would pop back up alive next week, though, Robert Aguirre-Sacasa is here to refute that. Here’s what he had to say on that subject in a TVLine interview:

[They] are serialized, so Archie is dead in Episode 2. And I’ll say this: That’s only the start of the body count for Rivervale.

Related Get more news when it comes to Riverdale right now!

Do you think that KJ Apa could actually be leaving Riverdale?

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This article was written by Jess Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.

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