Riverdale Season 5 has officially commenced production in Vancouver. Based on the characters of Archie Comics, Riverdale follows the twisty adventures of Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), and Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) in the sleepy titular town. Riverdale had premiered on the CW in January 2017; season 4 debuted in October 2019, but it ended abruptly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Riverdale season 5 will arrive in January 2021, and it will feature a time jump spanning 7 years.
Earlier today, Aguirre-Sacasa confirmed that Riverdale had officially started filming its season 5. He even shared a snapshot from the first scene that was filmed for the forthcoming season. The scene features a shirtless KJ Apa in a steam room, but no context has been provided. Aguirre-Sacasa had announced on Sunday that Riverdale season 5 was slated to begin production on September 14, after two weeks of mandatory quarantine and with proper health & safety protocols in place.
KJ Apa's Archie doesn't manifest any signs of aging in the shot that Aguirre-Sacasa has teased from the show. This indicates that the scene is a part of the Riverdale season 5's first three episodes, which are set in the series' original timeline. Riverdale resumed filming its season 5 in Vancouver after another CW show, Supernatural, resumed production on its final season in the same city. This move is likely to entice Arrowverse shows on the network to follow suit. The Flash and Batwoman, for instance, are already in pre-production, and Riverdale could influence them to begin filming as well.
Source: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa