The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina found Kiernan Shipka’s mini-me to play young Sabrina

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina has revealed who will play young Sabrina in the upcoming holiday episode, and her resemblance to series star Kiernan Shipka is downright spooky. Gifted actress and Shipka doppelgänger McKenna Grace will be stepping in to play young Sabrina in the episode, which drops on December 14th, and we almost can’t believe there was no magic involved in this casting process.

“A Midwinter’s Tale” takes place as the Church of Night celebrates the Winter Solstice—the longest night of the year—and according to Netflix, young Sabrina plays a pivotal role in the episode.

"During our holiday special, we’ll get to see what Sabrina was like as a precocious tot. And while The Church of Night celebrates the Solstice, that doesn’t stop Li’l Sabrina from asking Santa for something special," the streaming platform said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.

According to Sabrina showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, we have Shipka herself to thank the casting selection. He told The Wrap that she insisted they try to get Grace for the part when she found out the series would be doing a young Sabrina flashback episode. He said, “When Kiernan heard we were doing Li’l Sabrina, she texted me a picture of her with McKenna and said, ‘You have to get Mckenna. She’s like me as a little girl and we’re dead ringers.’”

For reference, here’s Shipka as Sabrina:

And here’s Grace:

The actresses met and posed together at the 2018 Critics’ Choice Awards in January.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd1bmlDBXOS

While only 12 years old, Grace has already played the younger versions of characters in a number of critically acclaimed projects. She most recently starred as young Theo in the hit Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House, and she played the younger version of Margot Robbie in I, Tonya. She also plays the younger version of Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers in the upcoming Captain Marvel.

We can’t wait to see the The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina holiday episode on December 14th on Netflix.