Riverdale might still be a week away from debuting, but we have our first look at one of the show’s new additions.
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The Archie Comics Twitter account recently shared a photo of three of the Southside Serpents, which you can check out below. Most notably, the photo provides our first official look at Toni Topaz, who will be played by Vanessa Morgan.
The Southside Serpents are coming. Watch out, #Riverdale High. ๐ pic.twitter.com/ZUPSyQvlpx
โ Archie Comics (@ArchieComics) September 29, 2017
For the uninitiated, Toni is a minor character in the Archie Comics lore, who most frequently bonds with Jughead through their love of food. In the world of Riverdale, she will be a member of Riverdale‘s most notorious gang, and will befriend Jughead as he starts school at Southside High.
Fans caught wind of Toni’s addition to the show earlier this summer, thanks to a series of audition tapes. Morgan was officially cast in the role a month later, and has made a bit of an impact in the months since.
Even though Toni has yet to official debut in the series, some fans of the “Bughead” dynamic have worried that Morgan’s character will get between the pair, even sending her death threats.
“I’ve already had some death threats,” Morgan said back in August. “But the thing is, it’s half death threats because they don’t want that [actually] happening, and there’s half that’s just all love. Who knows if [my character coming between Bughead] is even going to happen? People are just jumping to conclusions.”
Morgan’s arrival to the show will also bring a new source of representation for Riverdale fans, as her character is openly bisexual. Morgan has been very on board with that idea, even revealing which character she’d like Toni to get romantically involved with.
Riverdale‘s second season will premiere on Wendesday, October 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.