‘Riverdale’ Showrunner Shares New Look at Season 3’s Gargoyle King

Could Riverdale be going full horror?

After a season doing noir detective stories and then another delving into the world of slasher films, showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has shared a baffling new image that seems to suggest a literal monster is going to come into play during the teen drama’s third season.

Things have not been going well for Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and the rest of the gang when we meet up with them at the start of the season. Archie’s murder trial will apparently be resolved in the premiere, and if the just-released synopsis for the season’s second episode tells us anything, it is that he will be found guilty.

Enter the “Gargoyle King,” a creepy, shadowy figure standing in the woods of Fox Forest just outside of Riverdale.

That all of this is going on while the town across the lake, Greendale, sees itself inundated with magic on Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina likely tells you the general headspace the writers find themselves in.

Prior to last season, it might have been difficult to take a looming, monstrous form at face value on a show about love triangles and cheerleading. But with cults, a pray-the-gay-away clinic, and a hooded serial killer who had to die more than once…well, let’s just say this little town is seeming crazier all the time.

As fans will remember, Archie was framed for murder by Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos) in the Season 2 finale, and the town will be pulling out all of the stops with regards to his trial. But if the Season 3 trailer, and the time that Archie is spending behind bars, is any indication, then the turnout of the trial might not be the most positive thing.

The third season of Riverdale will debut on Wednesday, October 10, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

And keep an eye out for the first episode of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, from the same creative team, later in October.