Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star Adeline Rudolph will be joining Riverdale season 5 as Minerva Marble. Both shows were developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, offering audiences an updated version of the wholesome personas made popular by the Archie Comics. Riverdale premiered in 2017 on The CW, focusing on love and murder. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina would follow a year later on Netflix, imagining a darker universe for its witchy protagonist. The two shows, both fitting comfortably in the teen drama genre, are also loosely connected.
Heading into season 5, Riverdale has been heavily promoting a time-jump that will take the show seven years into the future. Although much will have changed, viewers can count on another familiar face to join the fray. Rudolph was a main cast member on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, appearing as the devilish Agatha Night in all four parts of the Netflix drama. When she makes her Riverdale debut, however, Rudolph will be stepping into a different portrayal.
Aguirre-Sacasa shared the news on his Instagram account, posting a photo of Rudolph and noting that the actress was making the jump from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to Riverdale. The showrunner praised Rudolph’s performance as Agatha, teasing that she would be portraying the brand new character of Minerva Marble in upcoming episodes of Riverdale season 5. You can check out Aguirre-Sacasa’s post below.
Unlike many of the main and recurring characters on Riverdale, Minerva was created for the CW adaptation. The character has been previously described as an art appraiser with an eye for detail. It’s also noted that Minerva is not afraid to use her powers of persuasion. Because of this descriptor, some fans have wondered whether Minerva might actually be an alias for Agatha. Still, by all accounts, Rudolph is portraying an entirely new persona that’s unconnected to her time on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. It wouldn’t be unusual for showrunners to utilize actors that they’ve come to rely on for different roles, like when recurring Friends actors appeared as new characters on the short-lived spinoff Joey, and the same appears to apply with Rudolph as well.
The connection between Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina hasn’t been strongly-defined. Although the shows have contained oblique references to one another, with minor characters popping up in both worlds, a proper crossover hasn’t taken place on-screen. While that could potentially down the line, with Aguirre-Sacasa planning a story called The Witch War at one point, Rudolph has the chance to make a second impression when she debuts as Minerva Marble. For fans that enjoyed her turn as Agatha Night, it will be interesting to see what she brings to Riverdale.
Source: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa