Author: Trafficblast

When Riverdale returns to The CW on October 9, it will be to remember actor Luke Perry, who died unexpectedly during Season 3. The Season 4 premiere, titled “In Memoriam,” will feature a tribute to the late actor. During the show’s annual panel at San Diego Comic-Con, it was also revealed that Riverdale had enlisted another of Perry’s former colleagues, 90210 co-star Shannen Doherty.

Doherty played Brenda Walsh, a love interest of Perry’s Dylan McKay, on the series. The two were also close friends. In fact, Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa said in a statement that Perry had been hoping for Doherty to appear in the show since it began. “They were such good friends, and when we were putting together this tribute episode, we wanted to make it as special as possible, and so we asked Shannen to do a pivotal, super-emotional role. She read the script and immediately said ‘yes.’ It’s very impactful,” he explained.

According to Cole Sprouse, who plays Jughead on the show, the various cast members getting to share scenes with Doherty was “very cathartic.” Being able to work with someone new to their world but so close to Perry was “beautiful” for them.

In discussing the episode, Aguirre-Sacasa said taking time to craft a memorial to kick off Season 4 was the best way they could honor him. “We wanted it to be a very sort of a special episode–kind of stand-alone,” he explained. It will honor the character and his impact on the various characters and the town of Riverdale itself.

The appearance by Doherty wasn’t the only news revealed in the panel. It was also announced that former Dawson’s Creek and The Fosters star Kerr Smith would be joining the cast as the new principal at Riverdale High, Mr. Hones. Aguirre-Sacasa described the character as “a bit of a hard-ass who takes a harder line with the students this year, especially with the seniors.” It’s about time someone puts these kids in their place.

Riverdale returns for its third season on October 9.

Avengers: Endgame was a box office powerhouse when it released in April, but despite its monster opening, the movie wasn’t quite able to take the box office earnings record from another enormous movie: Avatar. That’s no longer the case, according to Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, who just announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Endgame took Avatar’s box office record.

There’s a catch, though.

“I literally just heard from our folks at Disney Distribution that Avengers: Endgame will be the biggest film of all time,” Feige said during the Marvel Studios panel in Comic-Con’s Hall H. “You have to shout out to [Avatar director] James Cameron–if you adjust for inflation he still holds that title, but right now, thanks to you folks in Hall H, Avengers: Endgame is the biggest film of all time.”

That means that in straight numbers, Endgame has surpassed Avatar’s total box office take of $2.78 billion. But as Feige mentioned, the world was different in 2009, when Avatar was released, and inflation means that $2.78 billion was worth more then than it is now.

You might also recall that Disney and Marvel Studios worked pretty hard to get that record out of Cameron’s hands. The company returned Endgame to theaters on June 28 so it could soak up even more money. Before its “farewell” tour, Endgame had only raked in $2.74 billion. Still, a record is a record, and Disney fought to take this one.

There’s plenty more news coming out of Marvel’s Hall H panel, and you can find full coverage of all of it on our Comic-Con hub.