Luke Perry’s Death Will Be Addressed On ‘Riverdale’ At The ‘Top Of Season 4’

Riverdale will never be the same without Luke Perry, but the creators have vowed to honor the late actor as best they can. The CW series’ creator, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, revealed to Entertainment Tonight this week that he and his team of writers are figuring out how to address Perry’s absence on-screen in Season 4. The actor passed away after Riverdale‘s third season began airing, so he did appear in a few final episodes.

Aguirre-Sacasa revealed that he plans to explain Perry’s absence as Fred Andrews, the father of main character Archie Andrews, in the beginning of the fourth season.

“We knew we had to honor Luke and address Luke’s death on the show,” he said.

Perry unfortunately and suddenly passed away in March after suffering from a stroke.

The showrunner explained that they ultimately decided to wait because the Season 3 finale had already been written with Perry’s character included.

“Rather than try to squeeze something in and potentially not get it right, we thought, ‘Let’s take a beat and let’s figure out really what would be the best way to honor Luke…at the top of Season 4,'” he continued.

The Riverdale team is still in the early stages of planning, but Aguirre-Sacasa said they do “have an idea” of how to write Perry out of the series. He opted not to share the idea, though, as it is subject to change. Fans will have to wait until the season airs to find out.

Although Archie’s father will be missing from the series, Aguirre-Sacasa did assure that his mother, played by Molly Ringwald, will have a greater role in the upcoming season. She had previously been conducting business in another city, but came back to Riverdale in Season 3 while Fred left on his own business trip.

Thankfully, the beloved actor’s final appearance in Riverdale was a beautiful and touching moment. Fans last saw Perry in Episode 19, which aired on Wednesday, April 24, according to E! News. He shared his final scene with his on-screen son, played by KJ Apa.

Aguirre-Sacasa tweeted at the time that Perry’s last episode saw his character doing what he does best: “Imparting words of wisdom to Archie.”

Back in April, Apa opened up to Entertainment Tonight about his relationship with his on-screen father and assured that his absence will be greatly felt.

“His legacy is going to live on in the lives around him that he worked with,” he said. “I’m never going to forget him and I think it’s still very fresh and we’re all still dealing with it.”