Netflix giveth and Netflix taketh away. Nobody can deny that the streaming giant has provided some amazing shows over the years, but the flip side is the great ones they’ve canceled before their time. For me, the worst has been Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a hilarious and dark adaptation of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s horror comic about the titular teenage witch.
Netflix’s stated reason for the cancellation was the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was incredibly frustrating that the fourth season ended on a cliffhanger that seemed destined to go unresolved. But now there’s some light at the end of the tunnel, with Aguirre-Sacasa confirming in an interview with Deadline that the TV show’s story will continue in a comic and that he’s confident Kiernan Shipka will reprise the role in live-action at some point.
One of the more interesting elements of the interview was him revealing more about the planned crossover with Riverdale. This arc would have been called “Witch War” and he was deep into planning it when the hammer came down. As he puts it:
“[I] pitched a possible part five to Netflix which would’ve produced Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead and all the Riverdale characters as witches and there would’ve been a witch war between the witches in Greendale versus all of these witches and warlocks in Riverdale. Netflix was excited about that idea but due to the pandemic, it didn’t feel possible.”
Exactly how the Riverdale characters would have become witches is unknown, as they don’t appear to have magical powers in the CW show. A clue might come in a Chilling Adventures comic, which revealed that Betty and Veronica were witches but hadn’t fully realized it. Perhaps these would have been alternate versions of the Riverdale crew, as it’d be difficult to go back to more grounded stories if half the characters can suddenly commune with Satan.
Some hints will come on October 13, when the long-delayed ninth issue of the core comic hits shelves. But fans of the TV show should keep an eye out for The Occult World of Sabrina Spellman later this year, which will directly continue the story of the Netflix show in comic form.