Chilling Adventures of Sabrina fans were left distraught when Netflix announced in 2020 that the fourth season would be the last. But now there’s some light on the horizon, as showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa seems confident that the property will one day return to live-action with Kiernan Shipka.
Speaking with Deadline, Aguirre-Sacasa said:
“About two months ago, I reached out to [Archie Comics CEO/Publisher] Jon Goldwater and told him that Sabrina is going to eventually come back. We’re going to find a way to continue with Kiernan, but in the meantime, what if we bring back the comic book?”
Now there’s two Chilling Adventure of Sabrina comics coming. The first will be the ninth issue of the ongoing series, which went on hiatus while the TV show was in production, which will hit shelves on October 13. Beyond that, we’re getting The Occult World of Sabrina Spellman later this year, which will continue the story of the Netflix show.
And as for that live-action resurrection? It seems there’s going to be a delay due to rights issues with Netflix:
“There’s a hold on the character now, I think for two years, and that window has already started. My plans are to work on the comics and build up that library with the hopes that one day we can do a standalone movie or hopefully bring back the series.”
I feel like right now this is like the research and development stage of the next iteration of Sabrina. I was really bummed that the fans weren’t able to see Sabrina reunited with her family and friends which was the heart of the show. But I’m hopeful that with different circumstances in the future, we’ll be able to do a live-action Sabrina to continue.”
I hope Kiernan Shipka can return to the role, as Chilling Adventures was great fun from start to finish and I’m sad that it never got the send-off it deserved. The rest of the interview just rubs salt into the wound, with Aguirre-Sacasa explaining that he was deep into preparing a “Witch War” crossover with Riverdale, but the pandemic meant that it became impractical to shoot.
In addition, he revealed that there was an amazing-sounding scene cut from the finale in which we see Sabrina’s aunt Zelda bargaining with Baron Samedi to bring Sabrina back from the dead. This would have been the cliffhanger leading into the fifth season, but Aguirre-Sacasa liked it so much he’s going to use it in the comics.
Fingers crossed that Netflix’s two-year hold on the character flies by and another network picks up the show, as there’s a big Chilling Adventures of Sabrina-shaped hole in my life.
