WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the fourth season finale of Riverdale, “Chapter Seventy-Six: Killing Mr. Honey.”

Season 4 of Riverdale was originally supposed to end with episode 22, a chapter that would have likely concluded the mystery of the homemade videotapes and that would have sent Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica off to college. However, due to the coronoavirus pandemic, production on the series was halted, and "Chapter Seventy-Six: Killing Mr. Honey" served as the impromptu Season 4 finale. Therefore, when the series returns for its fifth season, it will begin with episodes that will conclude the current mystery, and the cast of characters will then go their separate ways for their university studies.

However, it turns out their time in college is something we may not see. In fact, series creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa recently confirmed that Season 5 will feature a considerable time jump spanning several years. This will effectively bring the characters to the same age as the actors who play them. This revelation indicates that Season 5 of Riverdale will take a bit of inspiration from It: Chapter 2.

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It: Chapter 2 from 2019 is, of course, the sequel to the popular 2017 film It, both of which are based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. In the first film, a group of young friends was tormented by a monster clown who fed on their fear. The children were eventually able to defeat Pennywise, but unfortunately he returned to town in the sequel, which takes place decades later. Now adults, the group of friends all have to travel back to their hometown of Derry, reunite and finish what they started when they were kids.

While we don't expect any alien clowns who consume fear to appear on Riverdale, it does appear as if the series' next season could still take a cue from the novel and its movie adaptations. After all, given the time jump that is being planned for the television show's return, Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica will no longer be teenagers. Plus, if the time jump skips through the characters' entire time at college, then we will see what they are up to as young adults. We also know that they will all eventually return to Riverdale -- it's the name of the show, after all.

What's more, actor Madchen Amick, who plays Betty's mother, recently said in an interview with TVLine, "something clearly is going to bring all our favorite characters back to town and involved in some new thrilling adventure, I’m sure." If that is the case, then Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead will all get pulled back to Riverdale for the same reason.

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Riverdale Season 3 occult header

Each season of the series has been driven by one mystery, whether that is the case of Jason Blossom's murder, the Black Hood serial killer, the Gargoyle King or Jughead's disappearance. Riverdale is a considerably dark show, which means that its next season is also bound to feature a new dark mystery. But what could it be? Well, like It, it might be something that ties all the characters together and calls them back to where it all began.

It would sure make for an interesting premise. Plus, with the characters looking the same whether in the past or the present, the season could still employ flashbacks to deepen the mystery and, eventually, offer some answers.

Airing Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, Riverdale stars KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Madelaine Petsch, Casey Cott, Vanessa Morgan, Mark Consuelos, Skeet Ulrich, Marisol Nichols and Madchen Amick.

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