Meet Archie & Pals: ‘Riverdale’ Adds Kevin Keller And Two New Pussycats

UPDATE: Over the weekend, Archie's chief creative officer and writer of the Riverdale pilot, Roberto Aguirre Sacasa tweeted that newcomer Casey Cott will be playing Kevin Keller, Archie's first out gay character. Furthermore, white not officially confirmed, Irie Hayleau and Ashanti Bromfield are rumored to have been cast as The Pussycats as Valerie and Melody respectively. Original story follows below:

It’s fair to say that we here at ComicsAlliance are very excited for The CW’s upcoming Archie adaptation, Riverdale and its promises of a weirder, more adult version of our favorite characters including a hunky Archie, emo Jughead and adderall-addicted Betty.

We’ve been following the ongoing casting of the project intently, which has already taken a break from the traditional all-white core cast to make Riverdale look more like the real world --- and it’s great to see the continue with the recently announced casting of Reggie, Dilton and Moose. We've rounded up all the casting so-far into a gallery comparing the beautiful people of Riverdale with their classic comic counterparts.

Playing the role of Archie Andrews will be relative newcomer KJ Apa, a New Zealander who previously worked on the soap, Shortland Street. While he does currently have black hair, Apa has already promised that it will be a more recognizable shade of red very soon. Cole Sprouse has been cast as Jughead, and Luke Perry of Beverly Hills 90210 will be playing Archie’s father, Fred Andrews.

Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes have been cast as Archie’s perpetual love interests, Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, and the Archie Twitter account recently showed off a picture of Mednes after a very Veronica make-over. Ashleigh Murray has been cast as Josie of and the Pussycats fame, and Madelaine Petsch will be playing Cheryl Blossom, known for coming into the lives of Archie and the gang like a wrecking ball, and will reportedly fill the mean girl archetype at Riverdale High.

Last week, Deadline reported that Marisol Nichols of NCIS has been cast as Veronica's mother, Hermione Lodge, and a day later, announced Mädchen Amick from Twin Peaks and Netflix's Love has been cast as Betty's mother, Alice Cooper. (Yes, her name is Alice Cooper.)

The most recent casting, courtesy of The Wrap, has revealed Ross Butler of The Disney Channel’s KC Undercover (which introduced the world to new Spider-Man star Zendaya) will be playing the living thorn in Archie’s side that is Reggie Mantle. Newcomers Daniel Yang and Cody Kearsley will be playing the roles of brainiac Dilton Doiley and meathead Moose Mantle respectively.

Riverdale is shooting its pilot soon, so hopefully they’ll be a bit more casting news concerning Kevin Keller, Midge Klump and Jingles The Christmas Elf coming very soon. The pilot will be produced by Greg Berlanti and written by Archie Comics’ chief creative officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who is currently writing Afterlife With Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as part of their popular horror line.