'Riverdale' Creator Opens Up About Addressing Luke Perry's Absence

How will Riverdale address Luke Perry‘s absence on the show?

Creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told ET that Fred Andrews’ absence will be explained at the beginning of season four, after the actor sadly passed away due to a massive stroke.

“We knew we had to honor Luke and address Luke‘s death on the show,” Roberto said. “When Luke had passed, we had already pretty much plotted out the end of this season and written the end of this season. Rather than try to squeeze something in and potentially not get it right, we thought let’s take a beat and let’s figure out really what would be the best way to honor Luke and to honor the character of Fred, and let’s do it at the top of season four.”

Roberto added that they “have an idea” about how to address it, but “honestly though, things may change over the next month and I’d rather not say for fear of it changing.”

“Luckily, Molly [Ringwald] was already slated to come, so we kind of just reflected and wanted to give ourselves the time to do those things right,” he continued. “We love Molly and we always love having her. I think she’s going to be a bigger presence next season for sure.”

Riverdale‘s season three finale premieres on May 15 on The CW.