Riverdale has been missing one of the Core Four in the past two episodes but could it really be that actor Cole Sprouse has left for good?
Riverdale season five has showed Jughead Jones (played by Cole Sprouse) struggling to cope with issues such as substance abuse and debt. He has had a difficult time in the Netflix and The CW series following the seven-year time jump and is still finding it harder than his former friends. He has already had a near life-death experience and the series is far from over.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Riverdale.
Did Cole Sprouse leave Riverdale?
In the midseason finale, Tabitha Tate (Erinn Westwood) was shocked to find Jughead was nowhere to be seen, after leaving him handcuffed in the bunker.
He had taken magic mushrooms to try and help his writing but all it did was cause him to note down random sentences and hallucinate.
Jughead found himself in Sketch Ally as he hurt himself and was being taken care of by a homeless person he knew when he was younger.
This life on the streets made Riverdale’s resident writer realise that he needed to get his head straight.
At the end of the episode, Jughead left Tabitha a voice message, saying that he was heading back to New York.
He was going in search of what happened during the seven years he was away from Riverdale and find out what trauma he had experienced.
Actor Sprouse’s voice was heard in last week’s (Wednesday, August 18) episode Citizens of Lodge but not Jughead himself.
His absence from Reservoir Dogs which came out yesterday, Wednesday, August 25, is the second episode on the trot that Jughead has been missing from.
There is no need to worry though as Sprouse hasn’t left Riverdale just yet.
He will be back as Jughead in the upcoming episode which will air next week on both The CW and Netflix.
The synopsis for The Night Gallery says he will “confront events” from his past, so it is likely we will be seeing what he gets up to in New York.
According to the actor’s IMDb page, Sprouse is also going to be back in the following episode Return of the Pussycats.
Therefore, it was a two-week break from the show rather than a permanent exit.
Sprouse is still keen to be part of Riverdale as well, going from his interview with Distractify last year.
He explained: “For me, as long as the show that I’m working on — Riverdale — is one that I continue to have fun on and work with all my closest friends, which I do, it’s a privilege to be a working actor…
“I think to sit and stare at something in the face — and you can laugh at yourself and you can criticize something you’ve worked for — but I think it’s incredibly pretentious and ignorant to look at something that you are blessed to have and go like, ‘I’m done’.”
His co-star KJ Apa who portrays Archie Andrews told LA Times in 2020 that he would be part of Riverdale for the next three years.
This would mean Apa would be in a potential seventh season, on top of the already confirmed series six.
There is a good chance all of the main cast have similar contracts so it is a strong possibility Sprouse won’t be going anywhere any time soon.
Riverdale is available to watch on The CW and Netflix.
Source: express.co.uk