Gully Boy director Zoya Akhtar will direct a live action musical based on the Archie comics for Netflix, the streaming platform announced today. Titled The Archies, the film will be set in the 1960s, according to a press release.
The popular comics feature the comic adventures of teenager Archie Andrews and other key characters – Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Jughead Jones and Reggie Mantle – in the fictional town Riverdale. Archie is also a member of a band called The Archies. The comics have inspired several adaptations, including the updated television series Riverdale.
The Archie universe loosely inspired Karan Johar’s feature debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998. The new production will be produced by Graphic India and Akhtar’s company Tiger Baby, which she set up along with Reema Kagti.
“I am super excited to have the chance to bring The Archies to life,” Akhtar said in a press statement. “It was a large part of my childhood and teenage years... I have to make sure the film stokes the nostalgia of a generation that grew up on the comic and yet resonates with the young adults today.”
Archie Comics CEO and publisher Jon Goldwater added, “We know that these characters have global appeal and translating them into other settings and cultures is just the start of what we have planned for future multimedia adaptations.”
Pratiksha Rao, Director, Films and Licensing, Netflix India, stated, “Zoya has an incredible and unique ability to make stories and the characters in them relatable, making them feel like they are an extension of our own self.”
