This week's Riverdale will be hugely emotional on screen and off for fans and the cast.

Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa ‏shared the sad news on social media on Monday (April 22) that this Wednesday's episode on The CW, 'Fear the Reaper', was the last one cast member Luke Perry shot before his untimely death.

Watch a trailer for the episode below:

preview for Riverdale season 3 'Fear The Reaper' trailer

"This week's #Riverdale is the last episode Luke filmed," he tweeted. "As always, Fred's imparting words of wisdom to Archie. A beautiful, true moment between a father and his son. Wish these scenes could go on forever.."

The episode will feature the gang mounting a rescue mission when Jellybean goes missing, while Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray) considers leaving Riverdale. (In reality, Murray is leaving to join spinoff Katy Keene).

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Riverdale previously paid tribute to Perry with an on-air memorial message days after his death, in addition to Aguirre-Sacasa announcing that all future episodes would be dedicated to him.

Aguirre-Sacasa has also confirmed that the series will acknowledge Perry's passing within the narrative of the show in the most respectful way possible.

Luke Perry, Fred Andrews, Riverdale, Season 1, Finale
The CW

"We know that we have to address it in some way," the writer said last month. "But we're giving ourselves a little bit of time and space before we figure out the best way to honour him."

It was determined in March that Perry died from an "ischemic cerebrovascular accident", which is the most common type of stroke.

Riverdale airs on The CW in the US and Netflix in the UK.


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