The minds behind the Spider-Verse movies are bringing another classic comics series to the big screen. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have signed on to produce a feature film based on Archie Comics, the teen humor series that’s been steadily chugging along since 1941. There’s no word yet whether the film will be live-action or animated: Lord and Miller have produced both, with their latest, the live-action science fiction epic Project Hail Mary, set to hit theaters next year.
According to reports, the film’s script is being written by Tom King, a veteran comic book scribe whose Supergirl: The Woman of Tomorrow series will be adapted into next year’s Supergirl film. He’s also penning the upcoming Lanterns series for HBO. Said Lord and Miller in a statement: “We are longtime fans of Archie, Veronica, Betty and the gang in all of their iterations. When we heard Tom King’s take on the classic material, we instantly thought it made sense as an event movie for all audiences — both lifelong fans and a whole new generation. We’re so excited to bring these beloved characters to the big screen.” Plot details for the film are being kept under wraps for now.
What Is Archie Comics?
Founded in 1939 as MLJ Comics, the publisher would eventually name itself after its signature character. Archie Andrews, an American “every-teen” patterned after Mickey Rooney‘s Andy Hardy character, was introduced in 1941’s Pep Comics #22 by John L. Goldwater and Bob Montana. Archie, his becrowned best pal Jughead Jones, and his dueling love interests Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, plus all their assorted friends, relatives, and enemies, have become comic book icons over the intervening decades, and have been adapted for the screen a number of times. Most recently, the teen humor characters found themselves in a Twin Peaks-like world of sex, violence, and surrealism in The CW‘s long-running soap Riverdale. The Archies, a more conventional take on the characters, albeit one transplanted to 1960s India, premiered on Netflix in 2023. The publisher has also adapted a number of other characters for the screen, including Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Josie and the Pussycats.
The Archie film will be produced by Emma Watts, Archie Comics CEO and publisher Jon Goldwater (the son of company founder John), and Aditya Sood, president of Lord Miller. It is a Universal Pictures production.
An Archie film is in development.
via Collider