'Riverdale' Star Madelaine Petsch Is Starring In A New Horror Movie As A Very Mysterious Teen

Cheryl Blossom has a motion picture in the works, y'all. On Friday, Jan. 18, Deadline reported Riverdale icon Madelaine Petsch will star in upcoming horror-comedy movie Clare at 16. She will also serve as an executive producer on the film. Based on the first to-be-released novel in the to-be-released six-book series by Don Roff, Clare at 16 is about a high school student who lives with her grandparents and is an average teen. Or, you know, so everyone thinks.

Clare appears to be an average teen who, as Deadline put it, “will do whatever it takes to protect loved ones when confronted by the evil she faces in her small town.” Evil in a small town, you say? Well, well, well, Petsch certainly knows a thing or two about that. Er, she knows a thing or two about playing a character who lives in a small town that just so happens to be inundated with evil forces. Mark Pavia will write and direct the adaptation of the forthcoming book.

Oh, and this movie may be only just the beginning. Producer Cassian Elwes told deadline,

"Petsch is a huge star, and she is perfect to bring Clare to life. I knew it had potential, but Petsch is going to take this to another level. Clare at 17 has also been written, and the story is ripe for sequels.”

In a statement provided to Deadline, Petsch said,

“The minute I picked up the script I was instantly intrigued by Clare. She has so much going on beneath the surface at any given moment and has a very interesting way of problem solving, which will make being her very fun and challenging. I’m thrilled and honored to be bringing her to life with an amazing team.”

After Petsch shared the Deadline announcement on Twitter, her Riverdale co-star Camila Mendes tweeted, “proud of you!!!” Suffice to say, she did not unleash it. She did not destroy Petsch. She did not tear Petsch a new one. She did not rip Petsch to shreds. And she did not annihilate Petsch. (OK yeah, that quote comes from a Betty/Cheryl scene, but whatever. It is too iconic to not reference as often as possible.) Veronica and Cheryl may have a, uh, rather fraught friendship, but the actors who play them on the CW’s adaptation of the Archie series sure seem to get along better than a cherry and a Pop’s ice cream sundae.

Pre-production on Clare at 16 is set to commence this spring, which just so happens to be the very same season Riverdale's newest musical episode is slated to premiere. On Thursday, outlets like E! News, Entertainment Weekly, and Entertainment Tonight, reported that the current season will feature a musical episode based on Heathers. It's reportedly slated to premiere on March 20.

Riverdale's taking on Heathers, Jughead Jones is (probably) finally going to belt out a tune, and Petsch is going to be in a new movie. Not a bad week for Riverdale news.