UPDATE 5/6/2013 12:26 PM: Archie Comics has sent out a press release about the project, now found at the bottom of this article. The release implies that the film will be more in line with a teenage comedy film (much like "Sixteen Candles") rather than a horror-based one.


Warner Bros. has closed a deal for a live-action film based on Archie Comics.

It looks like the gang from Riverdale will get their chance to appear in living color in the big screen. According to Deadline, Warner Bros. has closed a deal for a live-action film based on the "Archie" comic books. Directed by Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect), the film will have a script by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, longtime comics author and a writer on "Glee." The writer also did work on the upcoming "Carrie" remake and some retooling of the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark."

Although no details about the plot were revealed, Deadline theorizes that Aguirre-Sacasa's script may have something to do with with his upcoming "Afterlife with Archie" series, which introduces zombies into the Archie universe. Indeed, the writer is no stranger to horror -- in addition to "Carrie" and the upcoming "Afterlife with Archie," Aguirre-Sacasa also penned quite a few "The Stand" miniseries for Marvel Comics.

"There's definitely going to be some humor in the book, though I'm not sure I'd describe it as 'meta-humor,'" Aguirre-Sacasa said of "Afterlife with Archie" in March. "Tonally, I think we're going for horror laced with an undercurrent of black comedy. Like the first and second 'Evil Dead' movies, or the original 'American Werewolf in London.' The comedy will hopefully heighten the horror, and vice-versa."

However, it may not be the writer's horror chops that interest the "Archie" filmmakers, but his experience writing teenagers on "Glee" -- something he also crafted for Archie Comics in the "Archie Meets Glee" crossover comic. Expect more details to be revealed as the film goes into further development.

Official Press Release

Archie Comics is proud to announce that Warner Bros. Pictures will be producing a live-action Archie movie based on the Archie Comics characters. This is the first feature film starring the Riverdale gang in the publisher's 72 year history.

Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect) will direct a script by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (MGM's Carrie, The Town that Dreaded Sundown), who is hot off writing Archie Meets Glee, the highly publicized comic book crossover with the popular FOX TV series on which Aguirre-Sacasa serves as writer/producer. Aguirre-Sacasa will also be penning the forthcoming zombie series Afterlife With Archie that was previously announced by Deadline in March.

Roy Lee and Dan Lin will produce, while Jon Goldwater, Krishnan Menon, and Jon Silk will serve as Executive Producers. Details on the story reveal it will be a "high school comedy based on the original line of Archie Comics set in present day Riverdale".

"We are thrilled to be working with Warner Bros. on this project and have complete faith in their ability to bring Archie to the big screen in a way the fans will love," said Archie Comics Publisher/Co-CEO Jon Goldwater. "Having Roberto write and Jason direct is Archie's 'Dream Team.' Also, without Dan, Roy, Krish, and Jon, we could not have made this happen."

"Jason [Moore] and I have been friends for a long time, and this is a complete passion project for everyone involved, " Aguirre-Sacasa said, "Archie is the ultimate teenager and this movie will be the ultimate teenage movie-in the grand tradition of 'Sixteen Candles' and 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off.' We are so grateful to Jon [Goldwater] for inviting us to this dance."

ABOUT ARCHIE COMICS:

Archie Comics is the leading mass market comic book publisher in the world and the home to a wide array of the most popular humor, action-adventure and superhero characters in entertainment, including Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica, Reggie, Kevin Keller, Josie and the Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The New Crusaders, The Shield, Li'l Jinx and many more. Archie Comics have sold 1.5 billion comics worldwide and are published around the world in a number of languages. In addition to comics, Archie characters have been featured prominently in animation, television, film and music in various popular incarnations. For more information go to ArchieComics.com.