Archie graduates to the big screen

Comic book teenagers Archie, Veronica, Betty and Jughead are coming to the big screen for the first time in a new live-action feature film based on the long-running Archie comic series, its publisher said on Thursday.

The comedy will be produced by Warner Bros Pictures and will feature the lead Archie characters in a high school in present-day Riverdale, the fictional backdrop of the series, Archie Comics said in a statement on its website.

Archie began in 1941 and became a comic book empire for Archie Comics, which has produced numerous series featuring the main characters.

The comics have been adapted for television in animated and live-action series in the past, as well as a television movie featuring an adult Archie, but this is the first time in the comic book’s 72-year history that a feature film will be made.

Red-haired Archie Andrews is well-known in American pop culture, along with his long-running love triangle with the brunette Veronica Lodge and blonde-haired Betty Cooper and antics with best friend Jughead Jones, the publisher said.

“We are thrilled to be working with Warner Bros on this project and have complete faith in their ability to bring Archie to the big screen in a way the fans will love,” Jon Goldwater, publisher and co-CEO of Archie Comics, said in the statement.

The new film will be directed by Jason Moore, the publisher said. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa will write the screenplay.

No additional details were provided.