EXCLUSIVE: Madelaine Petsch, who plays queen bee Cheryl Blossom on the CW series Riverdale, is set to star and executive produce the horror-comedy pic Clare at 16, which is based on the upcoming Don Roff novel from Baker & Taylor.

Mark Pavia, who directed Stephen King’s The Night Flier, will write the feature adaptation and direct.

Clare at 16 tells the story of Clare Bleecker, an average Catholic high school student who lives with her grandparents after being orphaned. She seems normal, but Clare will do whatever it takes to protect loved ones when confronted by the evil she faces in her small town.

Cassian Elwes (Mudbound, Dallas Buyer’s Club) will produce alongside Dead Rabbit’s David Chackler (John Carpenter’s Village of the Damned, Tom Holland’s Twisted Tales) and Dave Sereny. Elwes also will rep domestic rights to Clare at 16. Jere R. Hausfater will serve as an executive producer with Nadia Redler and Pavia.

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“Petsch is a huge star, and she is perfect to bring Clare to life,” Elwes said. “I knew it had potential, but Petsch is going to take this to another level. Clare at 17 has also been written, and the story is ripe for sequels.”

Said Petsch: “The minute I picked up the script I was instantly intrigued by Clare. She has so much going on beneath the surface at any given moment and has a very interesting way of problem solving, which will make being her very fun and challenging. I’m thrilled and honored to be bringing her to life with an amazing team.”

Pre-production is slated to begin in the spring on Clare at 16 before Petsch returns to her starring role on Riverdale, which is in production on Season 3. Upcoming for her is the Netflix horror pic acquisition Polaroid.

Arielle Elwes (Braid) will be actively involved in the development and production of Clare at 16 and serve as a co-producer.

Hausfater brought the project to Arielle and negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers, with Chad M Christopher of Stone Genow representing Petsch. Petsch is repped by WME and Tiffany Kuzon,