A new Hollywood adaptation of the beloved long-running Archie comic books is in development with ‘21 Jump Street’ directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord lead as producers.

Aditya Sood, a collaborator on ‘Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ will also join the team. CEO of Archie Comics, the publishing house behind the franchise, Jon Goldwater will also produce, according to a PTI report from Los Angeles yesterday.

Long-time comic book writer Tom King, known for his work on the DC franchise, will pen the script. Among developing various titles, including several ‘Batman’ comics, King has also written the script for the upcoming HBO ‘Green Lantern’ adaptation ‘Lanterns’.

“We are longtime fans of Archie, Veronica, Betty, and the gang in all of their iterations. When we heard Tom King’s take on the classic material, we instantly thought it made sense as an event movie for all audiences—both lifelong fans and a whole new generation. We’re so excited to bring these beloved characters to the big screen” said Lord and Miller in a statement.

Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Archie Comics, with over an 85-year history, has sold over three billion comics worldwide and retains a massive social media presence. The Archie gang debuted in 1941’s ‘Pep Comics’ No. 22, and many of the publisher’s stories harken back to the idea of small-town Americana.

Some media reports also stated that the characters from Archie’s world have appeared on screen many times, with most recent adaptations being ‘Riverdale’, the TV take of Archie Comics that spanned 137 episodes on CW. Moreover, the TV series ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ ran from October 2018 to December 2020 for two seasons on Netflix. The comics also had an Indian live-action adaptation titled ‘The Archies’ (2023), directed by by Zoya Akhtar, starring Agastya Nanda, Khushi Kapoor, SRK’s daughter Suhana Khan, Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Aditi ‘Dot’ Saigal and Yuvraj Menda.

The storyline of the new film is, however, under wraps.

(Image used is representational)