Riverdale Showrunner Teases Jughead Is Really Dead With New Photo

It’s a Riverdale mystery that’s bigger than even the identity of the Black Hood: is Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) really dead? The CW series’ fourth season has certainly made it seem that way even before the season really began, thanks to an ominous flash forward during the Season 3 finale that teased a dark fate for the fan-favorite character. Of course, with Riverdale being notoriously twisty, fans have held out hope that maybe it’s all an elaborate ruse, but now showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is teasing that perhaps Jughead really is dead with a cryptic social media post.

Tuesday night on Twitter, Aguirre-Sacasa shared a Jughead quote that cryptically featured a birth and death date for the character while also suggesting that fans tune into Wednesday night’s episode with comfort food.

“A very special episode of Riverdale tomorrow night,” Aguirre-Sacasa wrote. “Watch it with some comfort food. Tomato soup, perhaps.”

If Jughead does turn out to actually be really and truly dead, it will be a further shakeup for the series as it makes its way towards Season 5. Last month, two big departures were announced for Riverdale with Marisol Nichols, who plays Hermione Lodge, and Skeet Ulrich, who plays Jughead’s father F.P. Jones, not returning in Season 5. It would also leave fans wondering what’s next for the popular series which has already prompted some questions, such as whether there will be a time jump between Season 4 and Season 5. Season 4 is senior year for the show’s characters and with its in-universe companion series Katy Keene set several years into the future already, many fans believe there will be a big jump to line Riverdale up with Katy Keene.

Of course, even with Aguirre-Sacasa’s tease it’s entirely possible that Jughead is not actually dead. Riverdale is a series that has done some truly wild things so far in its run and somehow having Jughead either come back from the dead or not actually be dead wouldn’t even be the most bizarre twist. It’s also just incredibly hard to imagine the show going through such a massive shakeup, especially as Jughead has been the series’ narrator since the beginning — though how reliable he is in that capacity is also up for debate.

Whatever Jughead’s actually situation, there’s sure to be more details coming — and more questions as well — with Wednesday’s “To Die For”, which you can check out the synopsis for below.

“MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN — Alice (Mädchen Amick) begins shooting a documentary about Riverdale and the latest mystery involving one of its own. Meanwhile, Betty (Lili Reinhart), Archie (KJ Apa) and Veronica (Camila Mendes) fall deeper into a web of lies as the investigation gets underway.

Madelaine Petsch, Marisol Nichols, Mark Consuelos, Casey Cott, Skeet Ulrich, Charles Melton and Vanessa Morgan also star. Shannon Kohli directed the episode written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.”

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW. “Chapter Seventy-Two: To Die For” will air on March 4th.