Chilling Adventures of Sabrina fans are still reeling from the news that Season 4 will be its last. The surprising announcement happened earlier this week, and star Kiernan Shipka and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s creator, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, were quick to respond. Now that the show will be ending this fall, how will it finally cross over with Riverdale?
Before Chilling Adventures of Sabrina even premiered, there was a buzz around the series potentially crossing over with Riverdale. This, despite the former streaming on Netflix, and the latter show airing on The CW. Both shows do currently stream on Netflix thanks to that licensing deal for Riverdale. All of that aside, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s creator has revealed how it is going to happen. Check it out:
While there are differences between them, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina/Riverdale crossover is finally happening…in the pages of the comics. That is right. There will be no last-minute crossover between the series on-screen. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa confirms that Part Five, entitled “Witch War,” will be continued in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic book.
Based on Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s tweet, it seems a crossover would have finally happened in Season 5, which is no longer an option. If it had happened, it would have been tricky. Earlier this year, the topic of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina crossing over with Riverdale came up with Riverdale’s Camila Mendes sharing her thoughts on the matter. That said, it's entirely possibly (and arguably even probable) that the Chilling Adventures crossover with Riverdale would have involved an alternate version of Riverdale not bound by the canon or characters of the CW show.
At the time, Camila Mendes had more hopeful things to say about Riverdale crossing over with Katy Keene. That show, like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, has also been cancelled, although there is still some hope for it. Unlike its-universe counterparts, Riverdale will be back for another season.
The CW drama will make it to the fifth season mark that eluded Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. “Witch War” could have happened on-screen if the Netflix show had gotten a Season 5 renewal is the implication of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s tweet. The crossover that could have been will now play out in the pages of the latter’s comic book series.
To cover all of its bases, the Arrowverse had to take the comic book route with its last crossover. When you think about it, logistically-speaking the comics were always the best channel to take for Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to cross over with Riverdale, no matter whether it was The CW's Riverdale or an alternate Riverdale. It removes that Netflix/CW issue entirely. Of course, there is a precedent for it being a non-issue.
The Arrowverse notoriously welcomed the title star of Lucifer, which is now a Netflix series, for a cameo in its latest mega crossover. While the two universes are connected, how they make it into viewers’ homes is not. Hence, a Chilling Adventures of Sabrina/Riverdale spinoff by way of the “Witch War” storyline could have been feasible if the Netflix show had not gotten cancelled.
You can currently watch all three seasons of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix. Season 4 is set to arrive this fall as one of the streamer’s 2020 premieres. To tide you over until then, check out this summer’s schedule.
