‘Riverdale’ Teases Sneak Peek at Season 4’s Luke Perry Tribute With Emotional New Photos

Riverdale previously announced that it would feature a tribute to late star Luke Perry during its upcoming fourth season, and now the show has dropped a sneak peak tease in the form of some emotional new photos. Among the new promo images are a couple of the shows cast, including KJ Apa (Archie Andrews), Lili Reinhart (Betty Cooper), Camila Mendes (Veronica Lodge), and Cole Sprouse (Jughead Jones). Easily the most heartwrenching photo, however, is one of Apa’s Archie hugging his mom Mary, played by Molly Ringwald, as she appears to be inconsolable. Additionally, it was revealed that the title of the episode will be “Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam.”

Sadly, Perry passed away in March after suffering a fatal stroke in February. At the time, he had not filming scenes on the recently ended Season 3 of Riverdale. This led to rewrites having to be done in order to remove his character.

Following the tragic news, Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa spoke to ET about how the cast and crew were handling it. “You know, honestly, we are I think all still in shock and are all still processing and grieving,” he explained.

He went on to confirm that Perry’s death would be reflected in the show, explaining, “We know that we have to address it in some way, but we’re giving ourselves a little bit of time and space before we figure out the best way to honor him.”

“Luke was, is, and will always be a big part of Riverdale,” Aguirre-Sacasa went on to say. “We’re kind of a family and when a loss like this happens, you carry it always. It changes and it hopefully becomes a little less painful as time goes by, but you’re changed.”

“When I was with the crew, I said, ‘It will never be the same,’ and that’s true because Luke was such a part of the show,” he continued at the time. “There are still a few more episodes that have Luke in them, so we’re glad to share those.”

“His spirit — which was so generous and wise and vivacious — we hope will infuse every episode, so in my mind, every episode for the rest of time on Riverdale will have a bit of Luke in it,” Aguirre-Sacasa also said.

Riverdale will return for Season 4 Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.