Tom King writing ARCHIE movie for Lord and Miller

Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline all report Tom King is writing a live-action Archie movie. It will be produced for Universal Pictures by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequels), as well as Emma Watts (Paramount’s former motion picture group president), and Archie Comics publisher Jon Goldwater.

While plot details are currently unknown, Lord and Miller said in a statement, “We are longtime fans of Archie, Veronica, Betty and the gang in all of their iterations. When we heard Tom King’s take on the classic material, we instantly thought it made sense as an event movie for all audiences — both lifelong fans and a whole new generation. We’re so excited to bring these beloved characters to the big screen.”

While Archie has appeared in films before, namely 1990’s TV movie Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again, the 2002 Archie’s Weird Mysteries spin-off The Archies in JugMan, and 2022’s Indian Netflix release The Archies, but this will star mark the character’s big screen appearance since his debut in 1941’s Pep Comics #22. The only theatrical film based on Archie’s comics to materialize until this one (presumably) was 2001’s cult classic Josie and the Pussycats. This news also comes two years after the end of The CW‘s Riverdale, a darker, edgier, and often bizarre take on the usually wholesome Archie Andrews and friends.

King has history with Archie, having penned 2024’s one-shot Archie: The Decision, which lured in readers with the promise of the eponymous teen finally choosing between his two longtime love interests, Betty and Veronica. His previous film/TV writing work includes Ava DuVernay‘s unproduced New Gods movie, and serving on the brain trust of DC Studios, where he co-wrote/produced next year’s DC/HBO series Lanterns, and the upcoming animated Mister Miracle show based on the comic he created with Mitch Gerads.

Could Lord and Miller wind up helming the film? The pair’s next film as directors, the Ryan Gosling-led sci-fi adventure Project Hail Mary, is currently set to hit theaters on March 20, 2026, and Miller is also set to direct a film version of the non-fiction COVID-19 book The Premonition. In the meantime, while we wait to see if the film will be realized or not, another movie based on King’s writing, Supergirl, will arrive on June 26, 2026.