Archie Comics Pilot ‘Riverdale’ Casts ‘Suite Life’s Cole Sprouse as Jughead

Gregory E. Miller February 9, 2016

Tim Whitby/Getty Images

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 29: (l-r) Actor Cole Sprouse arrives to teach a Master Workshop on acting by Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouce, hosted by Celebrity Talent Academy and Starlight Children's Foundation at the Cochrane Theatre on January 29, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Tim Whitby/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Cole Sprouse

The CW pilot Riverdale, which reimagines classic Archie Comics characters, has found its Jughead Jones. Former child star Cole Sprouse, now 23 and known for playing one of the twin brothers on Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, will tackle the role.

Lili Reinhart on Surviving Jack

The part of everyone’s favorite girl-next-door, Betty Cooper, will be played by actress Lili Reinhart, who appeared on the short-lived comedy Surviving Jack.

A release from Archie Comics describes this new version of Betty as “sweet, studious, eager-to-please and wholesome, with a huge crush on her longtime best friend, Archie.” Judghead, meanwhile is ““a heartthrob with a philosophical bent and a former best friend of Archie Andrews.”

Archie Comics says the show “offers a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica, and their friends, exploring small-town life and the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome facade.” Archie Comics Chief Creative Officer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who wrote the pilot, previously revealed certain details about the hour-long drama to TV Insider, including there would be a Virgin Suicides-esque plotline.

Casting for other major characters, including Archie, Veronica and Kevin Keller are expected in the coming weeks.