Riverdale boss Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa confirmed The Black Hood will return at the hit show's PaleyFest panel.

Riverdale type TV Show network The CW

The Black Hood will rise again on Riverdale.

It turns out the villain who had been terrorizing the town did not, in fact, die earlier this season, as executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa revealed at PaleyFest that the show will be returning to Black Hood storyline soon.

“When we started, we had three likely suspects, so for the first half of the season, we were always dropping red herrings so we could pick [one of the three],” Aguirre-Sacasa said of the Black Hood’s identity at the panel, which was moderated by EW’s Tim Stack. “As we moved into the second half, and we get back to the Black Hood for the last few episodes, we always knew it wasn’t Svenson, [the janitor], but for the last 10 episodes or so, we’ve had a pretty clear idea and have been writing toward that.”

Starting with the season 1 finale, the Black Hood was responsible for Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) being shot, Moose and Midge being attacked and the deaths of corrupt teachers Geraldine Grundy and Robert Phillips. The Black Hood was initially revealed to be Riverdale High janitor Joseph Svenson (Cameron McDonald), who was ultimately killed by the sheriff, though Archie suspected they hadn’t caught the right man.

The news of the Black Hood’s return comes on the heels of Betty discovering that her so-called brother Chic (Hart Denton) does not have Blossom blood, meaning he could be the son of Alice (Mädchen Amick) Cooper, but he’s definitely not the son of Hal Cooper (Lochlyn Munro) — and he could also totally just be an imposter and not related at all.

While some have theorized that Chic could be the Black Hood, others think that Chic could actually be the son of F.P. (Skeet Ulrich), as some viewers have long hoped he and Alice would get together, something that will be addressed in this week’s upcoming episode. “This is a big episode for Alice, the Serpents and F.P.,” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “If people are interested in seeing more of F.P. and Alice, I think you should watch this week’s episode.”

Definitely expect Chic to stir up even more trouble soon, which should lead to an ultimate confrontation between he and Betty (Lili Reinhart) by season’s end — or sooner. “My favorite moment is coming up in an episode; it’s a scene between Jughead, Betty, and Chic, which is probably my favorite moment,” Cole Sprouse teased of what’s ahead for the rest of the season.

This week’s episode will also heavily feature Cheryl’s plight (Madelaine Petsch) after her mother had her committed in a bid to take her inheritance, but also because her mother is trying to suppress Cheryl’s sexuality. “It’s a powerful episode between Cheryl and Toni [Vanessa Morgan],” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “It is something we’ve thought about for a while, so it’s nice to see it come to fruition.”

It turns out, Petsch and Morgan have actually been best friends for years, which the former says is why their chemistry is so palpable on the show. “I don’t think it was a realization,” Petsch says of Cheryl’s sexuality. “It is something she’s known for a long time, and her mom has pushed down, and it’s made Cheryl hate herself, because her mom doesn’t love her… I’m so happy to bring that to light and it’s an important storyline to bring to television.” Petsch also notes that Cheryl’s lack of love from her mother explains a lot of her season 1 mean girl tendencies. “Toni is really helping her explore that love for herself,” Petsch adds.

Another former pseudo-villain will also be going on a redemption tour, as football bad boy Chuck Clayton (Jordan Calloway) returns in the musical hour with intentions of reforming his persona. “I love that actor who plays Chuck,” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “He’s been such a great villain for us, but I think we wanted him to be able to do more stuff on the show, so part of the story was to redeem him, because he’s so great and he’ll be great with the gang.”

Tension will heat up outside of school as former lovers-turned-sworn enemies, Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) and Hermione Lodge (Marisol Nichols), are running against each other in the mayoral race, with Nichols teasing that the latter may have more of an edge. “Hermione has more of a political savvy instinct,” the actress says. But Perry quickly countered, “Yeah, she’s looking to make Riverdale great again.”

Riverdale airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.