“Riverdale,” the grounded and subversive adaptation of the definitive teen-humor Archie Comics on TheCW, will return with its second season this October, but the wait is long enough for plenty of speculation to develop over what will happen next. The season finale cliffhanger was a total shocker for followers of the show, so that particular plot point is a very important subject in “Riverdale” guessing games. Even the cast members themselves were completely into fostering an environment of inquisitiveness about what is in store for viewers when the series picks up again.

Now the show’s creator and one of its executive producers just dropped the biggest hint of future developments in the setting with an ominous Twitter post.

From mystery to thriller

Writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who has been pitching an “Archie” production (either as a film or series) with Warner Brothers since 2013, posted a rather sinister-looking tweet of what seems to be a new character joining the cast of “Riverdale” season 2. It is accompanied by a photo of a childish doodle, depicting a house, two children and a creepy looking guy with a sack of “sugar’ in his hand. Names under the figures identify the kids as the Blossom twins Cheryl (Madelaine Petsch) and Jason, whose death in the pilot sets the overarching arc of small-town mystery throughout the show.

The scary figure is called “Sugar Man,” and Aguirre-Sacasa’s caption warns the town of Riverdale to lock their doors because he is coming. No “Sugar Man” seems to be prominent in the library of the loads and loads of characters created over the several decades’ worth of Archie Comics, though there is also the possibility that it may only be an alias or assumed identity of an existing character.

The existence of the Sugar Man comes across as a visible indicator of the genre shift in “Riverdale,” from the murder-mystery of season 1 to outright scary thriller for season 2.

New faces

The CW’s deconstructive take on the wholesome universe of Archie Comics has met with remarkable success if the reviews and ratings of “Riverdale” in its inaugural season were any sign.

But in between the subversion of the source material’s themes, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has been able to effectively sneak in shout outs to some of the memorable elements of the comic books. Likely the same will be done with the connection of the Blossom Twins with the so-called Sugar Man. No casting has yet been made for the character.

“Riverdale” stars K.J. Apa as Archie Andrews, Lili Reinhart as Betty Cooper, Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge, and Cole Sprouse as Jughead Jones. They are joined in season 2 by Mark Consuelos as Veronica’s dad Hiram Lodge, and Graham Philips as her ex-boyfriend Nick St. Cloud. The show resumes October 11 at The CW.
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