Arcane season 2: key information
– No release date set yet
– Won't be released before 2023
– Three key cast members returning
– Story should pick up straight after season 1 finale
– Creators tease character arcs and plot details for season 2
– Fans concerned that season 2 could end Vi and Jinx's story
– Won Best Adaptation at The Game Awards 2022
Arcane season 2 is going to have a lot to live up to when it's eventually released.
The wildly popular Netflix animated series has wowed fans and critics alike since its November 2021 debut, entered our best Netflix shows list in the process, and won countless awards for every inch of its production. Most recently, Arcane's first season won Best Adaptation (opens in new tab) at the 2022 edition of The Game Awards – a worthy winner, we think you'll agree.
As we wave goodbye to 2022, we should – hopefully, anyway! – get some official news on when Arcane season 2 will be with us, too. Exciting times are ahead for all of us.
While we wait for Riot Games to announce the show's return, you've got plenty of reading to do. Below, we've compiled everything worth knowing about Arcane's second installment. That includes its possible release date, returning cast members, story details, the series' future, and more.
Major spoilers for Arcane season 1 follow, as do mild spoilers for its second season. Most of those appear in our cast and plot sections, so use the navigation bar to your left to skip ahead if you're avoiding them pre-release.
Arcane season 2 release date
Arcane season 2 still doesn't have a release date. That's despite the series being renewed in November 2021:
Ready yourselves, friends. Season 2 of Arcane is now in production. Where’s a Hexgate when you need one? pic.twitter.com/3aUeWuQ5UuNovember 21, 2021
Shows of this ilk take time to make, so we shouldn't have expected anything less. Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent also confirmed (in November 2021) that season 2 wouldn't arrive until 2023. Now that next year is almost upon us, we might finally get some good news on an official launch date.
So yeah, we are working on #arcane season 2. The good news: you won’t have to wait for 6 years (the time it took us to making season 1)The bad news: it’s not coming in 2022 😢 https://t.co/IQoPyLnw1JNovember 21, 2021
Meanwhile, the fifth episode of Bridging the Rift – a YouTube series detailing the first season's development – revealed the creative team were deep into writing season 2's storylines and character arcs. Responding to a fan on Reddit (opens in new tab), co-showrunner Christian Linke also confirmed all scripts had been written, but some had been tweaked once storyboarding and voice actor work was conducted.
So, when will Arcane season 2's release date be revealed? In our opinion, not until mid-2023 at the earliest. Season 2's development is seemingly going well, though, so fingers crossed we hear something more definitive soon.
Arcane season 2 plot
Full spoilers follow for Arcane season 1.
If you’ve seen Arcane's season 1 finale, you’ll know some characters might not be back for its follow-up. That’s because Jinx fired an arcane crystal rocket at Piltover’s council chamber with many main and supporting characters trapped inside. Those present in the chamber when the rocket exploded included Jayce, Mel, Viktor, Cassandra, Hoskel, Bolbok, Shoola, and Salo.
We don’t expect everyone to have survived, either. We suspect Mel and Cassandra, at the very least, will have perished or been severely injured. On Reddit (opens in new tab), fans think that'll be the case, too, with some suggesting an animation frame from season 2 – glimpsed in Bridging the Rift episode 3 – might have revealed Cassandra died in the attack. It would be odd for Riot and Fortiche to ruin this ahead of release, but maybe it was intentional to see if anyone picked up on it. It doesn't look like a scene from season 1 so, unless it's a deleted scene, this may be our first look at Arcane season 2.
If Mel and Cassandra die in the explosion, it would give Jayce and Caitlyn a major incentive to pursue Jinx, as they're Jayce’s partner and Caitlyn’s mother, respectively. Subsequently, we could see Jayce walk back on his promise to give Zaun its independence from Piltover, especially now that Jinx – a Zaun citizen – carried out a terrorist attack on the latter’s council.
Honored doesn’t even begin to describe how we feel about winning the #Emmy for 𝑶𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎.Thank you to our incredible team at @RiotGames and Fortiche, the @TelevisionAcad, and the greatest fans (yes, you) for making this possible. pic.twitter.com/xFNWt4eNc7September 4, 2022
Additionally, Caitlyn could be out for revenge if her mother was hurt or killed, which would put her at odds with Vi, whom Caitlyn is close with. The latter is Jinx’s sister, so Vi will likely be caught in a difficult situation: help Caitlyn and Jayce to bring her sister to justice, or try to save Jinx from herself, which would put her in opposition with the other two.
That isn't the only thing that may drive a wedge between Caitlyn and Vi. Responding to a fan on Twitter about whether Caitlyn knows that it was Vi and her gang who blew up Jayce's lab at the start of season 1, Arcane writer Amanda Overton revealed that wasn't the case. Will Caitlyn learn the truth in the show's second season?
It sounds like we'll explore Caitlyn and Vi's relationship further in season 2, too. Speaking at the BAFTAs (as reported by The Digital Fix (opens in new tab)), showrunner Alex Yee said fans “will be happy” with the progression of their relationship, adding: “The way in which we wanted to roll that story out has always been sort of determined. What you will see in season 2 will be part of the big picture that we’ve had all along.”
Expect the brewing war between Piltover and Zaun to take center stage in Arcane season 2 as well. Tensions were already simmering between the two nations in season 1, so we wouldn’t be surprised if a full-blown conflict begins as a result of Jinx’s attack. During a Reddit AMA (opens in new tab), co-creator Christian Linke summed up season 2's story with the word “war (opens in new tab)“, so expect lots of fighting to occur. That'll include another showdown between Jinx and Ekko, too, according to Linke (opens in new tab).
Additionally, Yee teased (via Netflix Queue (opens in new tab)) how the battle lines have been drawn heading into the next chapter, saying: “We ended season 1 by really pushing a lot of the characters in the show as far as we could from each other. Figuring out how to deal with this puzzle, where all the pieces have now been split up and tossed to the four winds, is going to be the main thrust of season 2.”
As for other story threads Arcane season 2 needs to deal with, we’re expecting to see Heimerdinger and Ekko collaborating further to help the undercity. With the former voted off Piltover’s council in season 1 episode 7, he bumped into an injured Ekko on the streets of Zaun in episode 8. The pair bond over their shared love of technology and, after Heimerdinger helps Ekko to return home, the duo decide to work together and try to ease Zaun’s suffering.
The full animation test for Arcane from 2015.“Are we going to do this or not?”#BridgingTheRift pic.twitter.com/pty1QaDPHfAugust 10, 2022
We’ll also see whether Viktor will lose himself completely to his Hextech research. He’s already inadvertently murdered his childhood friend Sky as a result of his Hexcore studies, and it appears that he’ll walk a darker path in season 2. If we know anything about LoL lore, there’s every chance that we could see Viktor use Hextech to cybernetically enhance his body further and become the champion that diehard LoL fans know him to be.
There could be room for some flashback sequences involving deceased characters, too. Responding to one Reddit fan's question about whether we'll see Silco and Vander's friendship pre-betrayal, Linke said “you will, in fact (opens in new tab)“. It's unclear if this'll be part of Arcane season 2 or a future installment, though.
Elaborating on what we can expect from various characters' journeys next time out, co-creator Christian Linke told the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science's YouTube channel (opens in new tab): “Season 2 was always this thing that made us think ‘let's take them further and explore the corner of their pysche and identities we haven't seen'. The challenge was to go to places where they've never been to. I'm excited about what we're doing in that regard. I also hope it makes every League [of Legends] player proud and every animation or fantasy nerd excited about our characters.”
Our new Best Adaptation Award at #TheGameAwards features these five nominees:🔸 Arcane: League of Legends🔸 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners🔸 The Cuphead Show!⁰🔸 Sonic the Hedgehog 2⁰🔸 Uncharted🗳️ Vote Now: https://t.co/ExP93r9hmS👀 Winners revealed live, Thursday, December 8 pic.twitter.com/yyIZmPnbLKNovember 14, 2022
All in all, expect a, well, riotous second season. According to Kevin Alejandro, who plays Jayce in Arcane, fans will be “on the edge of their seats” (per Buzzfeed (opens in new tab)), adding: “You're going to be conflicted in such a way that I don't know if it's good or bad. Like, your emotions will be pulled out of you and you'll be like ‘Oh my god!' That's how you're going to end [season 2]. It's so good!”
Arcane season 2 might spell the end of our exploration of this area of Runeterra – the world in which Arcane is set – though. In Bridging the Rift episode 5, Riot Games co-founder Brandon Beck confirmed that the show's creative team would look to explore more of Runeterra's regions and introduce new League of Legends (LoL) heroes in subsequent seasons. Many fans took this to mean Vi and Jinx's story, in particular, will end when the curtain falls on the show's second season. Without clarification from Riot, that rumor will run for a while yet.
Arcane season 2 cast
So far, only three Arcane season 2 characters have been confirmed:
- Hailee Steinfeld as Vi
- Ella Purnell as Jinx
- Katie Leung as Caitlyn
If you've watched the season 2 announcement video, you'll have heard the trio’s voices. Given that they watched on during that explosive season 1 finale, they’re safe from harm and will return.
So who else might be back? That’ll depend on who survives the Piltover council chamber attack. We think that Mel and/or Cassandra could be casualties of Jinx’s strike, while any of the other council members could die or be severely injured. We expect Jayce to survive, though. He has a bigger role to play, in our view, and he’ll no doubt want to bring Jinx to justice for her crimes.
Additionally, Ekko and Heimerdinger are coming back. The duo weren’t part of the council chamber attack, so they'll return and we’ll see how their character arcs progress in Arcane’s second season. Viktor will show up, even though he was in the council chamber at the time of Jinx's attack.
There are likely to be new faces introduced in Arcane season 2 as well. There were plenty of deaths in Arcane’s first outing – Silco, Vander, and Marcus to name three – so there’s a need for new supporting characters. We have no idea who might show up, but there are lots of LoL heroes and villains that Riot, Netflix, and Fortiche Productions can pull from the game franchise’s universe and use for the animated series.
Arcane season 2: Bridging the Rift YouTube series
To tide fans over until Arcane season 2, Riot Games released a YouTube series – Bridging the Rift – that details the first season's complicated, six-year development:
Arcane season 2 trailer: is there one?
No, and it’ll be a while before we get one. We’ll update this section when one is released.
Will Arcane season 2 be the series' final entry?
No. In Bridging the Rift episode 2, Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent revealed he's told co-showrunner Christian Linke that Riot's executive team had signed off on “multiple seasons”. Laurent had previously suggested this in a Riot Games blog post (opens in new tab), writing “there will be Arcane season 2 (+?)”.
Of course, multiple seasons could theoretically mean Arcane seasons 1 and 2. However, it would be odd to use the word “multiple” to describe two seasons when “a couple” would've sufficed instead. So we're pretty confident that Arcane will get more than two seasons, although how many remains to be seen.
Given its popularity, it's easy to see why it's getting more entries. Arcane season 1 holds a 100% ‘fresh’ rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes (opens in new tab) among critics, while it also has a 96% ‘fresh’ rating based on over 5,500 audience reviews.
Moreover, there’s plenty of story left to tell, character arcs to tie up, and new individuals and champions to introduce, so Arcane will never be short of ideas from plot or character development perspectives. We’re also big fans of Fortiche’s visuals for the animated series, too, so we’d be happy to see many more installments.
For more Netflix-based content, check out our best Netflix movies and best Netflix documentaries guides. Alternatively, read our hubs on The Witcher season 3 and Shadow and Bone season 2.
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