Kiernan Shipka Teases There’s a “Strong Possibility” Sabrina Could Return to ‘Riverdale’

On tonight’s episode of Riverdale, a moment fans have been waiting a long time for will finally happen: Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) will make her way from Greendale, to the neighboring town of… Rivervale? That’s the twist that makes this crossover so surprising, that The CW series is in the middle of an alternate universe event set in the dark, Twilight Zone-esque town of RiverVALE. But don’t worry, as Shipka teased to Decider, Sabrina may pop up in RiverDALE proper.

“I’d love to go back,” Shipka told Decider when asked if Sabrina’s return was already in the works, or to be determined. “I think that that’s definitely a strong possibility. Beyond TBD.”

On the episode, titled “Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Witching Hour(s)”, Sabrina pops up in Rivervale to help Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch) with a dangerous spell. Though the scenes between Sabrina and Cheryl are bewitchingly good, fans may miss seeing the iconic Archie Comics character paired up with other members of the cast… And for Shipka, she still wants to see Ms. Spellman with one cast member, in particular.

“I mean, I think the image of Sabrina and Archie together would just be be unbelievable,” Shipka said. “I see that in my head so clearly.”

Though that might be difficult since Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) had his heart ripped out as part of a fertility ceremony at the beginning of this season (don’t worry, he’ll be back on the December 14 airing hundredth episode of the series), at the very least the pairing of Cheryl and Sabrina is everything fans — and Shipka — hoped it would be.

“The second I read the script I thought, ‘that makes so much sense.'” Shipka recalled. “That is how we’re getting an intro to Sabrina in the Riverdale world. So I was so excited, and also Madelaine’s the best. Like, I love her so much, and we hadn’t really gotten a chance to hang out before this. So it was really fun to just chat off air. I felt like I was hanging out with someone for two days, and then also doing something I loved. It was a wonderful experience, through and through.”

That said, as noted above, this brief appearance tonight may not be the end of Greendale residents popping up in Riverdale (or the end of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, as we previously reported). After this five episode event, Riverdale heads back to its regular (well, regular for Riverdale) reality for the rest of Season 6 starting March 6, 2022. So could we see Sabrina out of RiverVALE, and in RiverDALE?

“I don’t think that we’re done with Sabrina entirely, and I hope she can go into Riverdale, and maybe have less routine, more relational kind of moments in the show,” Shipka said. “I think that would be really fun.”

Riverdale airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

Where to watch Riverdale