Arcane season 2: everything we know so far

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Here’s everything you need to know about Arcane season 2 on Netflix.

When will Arcane season 2 finally grace our screens? It’s a good question, but one we don’t have an answer for yet.

You see, Riot Games, Netflix, and Fortiche Productions are still hard at work making the hit animated series’ next installment. We’re hoping it’ll arrive sometime this year, but there’s every chance that one of the best Netflix shows of recent years may not launch until 2024. Sad faces all around.

Still, there’s plenty of reading for you to do in the interim. Below, you’ll find every piece of important news on Arcane‘s second season, including its story threads, returning cast members, potential launch date, and more

Major spoilers follow for Arcane‘s first season. Potential spoilers for Arcane season 2 are also discussed.

Arcane season 2 release date: what we know

Jinx is still going to be a major player in Arcane season 2. (Image credit: Netflix/Riot Games)

Arcane season 2 still doesn’t have a release date, even though it was greenlit in November 2021.

Given it’s been in development for 18 months (publicly, at least), it should be with us soon, right? According to Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent, it was never going to arrive in 2022, but that also doesn’t mean it’ll launch in 2023, either:

The fifth episode of Bridging the Rift – a YouTube series detailing the first season’s development – seemingly revealed development was nearing its end point. Meanwhile, in November 2022, co-showrunner Christian Linke confirmed (via Reddit) that scripts had been completed, but some had undergone rewrites, based on their story boards and voice actors’ work.

In February, Linke teased more about season 2’s development. Taking to Twitter, Linke asked his followers to provide him with suggestions for music artists, whose songs he’d like to use – licensed, of course – in the show’s next outing. If Arcane‘s executive team is searching for music to include in specific scenes, that means development might be approaching its endpoint.

So, when will Arcane season 2 arrive? Not until late 2023 at the very earliest, in our opinion. There’s lots of work still left to do by the sounds of it. We’re happy to wait if it means Arcane‘s next season is as good as (or even better) than its first, too.

Arcane season 2 plot

Vi will deliver more knock-out blows in Arcane‘s second season. (Image credit: Netflix/Riot Games)

Full spoilers follow for Arcane season 1.

If you’ve seen Arcane‘s season 1 finale, you’ll know Jinx fired a crystal rocket at Piltover’s council chamber, with many main and supporting characters trapped inside. Those present when the rocket exploded included Jayce, Mel, Viktor, Cassandra, Hoskel, Bolbok, Shoola, and Salo.

We don’t expect everyone to have survived the blast, either. At the very least, we think Mel and Cassandra will perish or be severely injured. On Reddit, fans suspect 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 dies. It would be odd for Riot and Fortiche to ruin this potential story beat pre-release, but maybe it was intentional to see if anyone picked up on it. The frame doesn’t look like it’s from season 1 so, unless it’s a deleted scene from that season, 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. You know, seeing as they’re Jayce’s partner and Caitlyn’s mother. That could lead Jayce to walk back on his promise to give Zaun its independence from Piltover, especially now that Jinx – a Zaun citizen – carried out the attack.

Additionally, Caitlyn may 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. The latter would put her in opposition with the other two, though, so she’s got a lot of thinking to do if we’re right in our assumptions on all of the above.

That isn’t the only thing that could divide Caitlyn and Vi once more. Responding to a fan on Twitter about whether Caitlyn knows Vi and her gang blew up Jayce’s lab in season 1’s opening act, Arcane writer Amanda Overton revealed that wasn’t the case. So, will Caitlyn learn the truth in season 2? Place your bets now.

Speaking at the 2022 BAFTAs (per The Digital Fix), showrunner Alex Yee said fans “will be happy” with the progression of Caitlyn and Vi’s relationship either way, 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, too. Tensions were already simmering between the nations last time out, so we wouldn’t be surprised if a full-blown conflict begins due to Jinx’s actions. During a Reddit AMA, co-creator Christian Linke summed up this season’s overarching narrative with the word “war”, so it sounds like we could be right on the money. That’ll include another showdown between Jinx and Ekko as well, according to Linke.

Additionally, Yee teased (via Netflix Queue) 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.”

We also expect to see Heimerdinger and Ekko collaborate further to help the undercity in Arcane season 2. With the former voted off Piltover’s council in episode 7, he bumped into an injured Ekko on the streets of Zaun in episode 8. The pair bonded over their shared affinity of technology and, after Heimerdinger helps Ekko to return home, the duo decide to work together to ease Zaun’s suffering.

We’ll also see whether Viktor will lose himself completely to his Hextech research. He’s already inadvertently murdered his childhood friend Sky thanks to his Hexcore studies, and it appears that he’ll walk a darker path in the show’s sophomore year. If we know anything about League of Legends (LoL) lore, 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 also be room for some flashback sequences involving deceased characters. Responding to a Reddit fan’s question about whether we’ll see Silco and Vander’s friendship pre-betrayal, Linke said “you will, in fact“. Currently, it’s unclear if this’ll be part of Arcane season 2 or a future instalment.

Elaborating on what we can expect from various characters’ journeys next time out, Linke told the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science’s YouTube channel: “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.”

In a bid to drum up excitement for season 2 (not that it needs it), Kevin Alejandro, who plays Jayce, said fans will be “on the edge of their seats” (per Buzzfeed), 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!”

However, Arcane season 2 might spell the end of our exploration of this area of Runeterra – the world in which the series is set. In Bridging the Rift episode 5, Riot Games co-founder Brandon Beck confirmed the show’s creative team would look to explore more of Runeterra’s regions and introduce new LoL heroes in subsequent seasons. Many fans took this to mean Vi and Jinx’s story will end with Arcane‘s second season. Without clarification from Riot, that rumor will run for a while yet.

Arcane season 2 cast

Who will return in Arcane season 2? (Image credit: Netflix)

Only three Arcane season 2 characters have been confirmed so far:

Hailee Steinfeld as Vi
Ella Purnell as Jinx
Katie Leung as Caitlyn

If you’ve watched the season 2 announcement video in our release date section, you’ll have heard the trio’s voices. Given that they watched on during that explosive season 1 finale, they were safe from Jinx’s attack.

Determining who else will return depends 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, as he has a bigger role to play and will seek vengeance on Jinx.

Additionally, Ekko and Heimerdinger should be 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, too. There were plenty of deaths in the show’s first outing – Silco, Vander, and Marcus to name three – so new supporting characters will be required to fill the void. We have no idea who might show up, but there are lots of LoL heroes and villains that Riot, Netflix, and Fortiche can pull from the game franchise’s universe and use for the animated series.

Arcane season 2: Bridging the Rift YouTube series

Bridging the Rift details the protracted development of Arcane season 1. (Image credit: Netflix/Riot Games)

To tide fans over until Arcane season 2, Riot Games released a YouTube series – Bridging the Rift – in late 2022 that explores the first season’s lengthy development:

Episode 1 – I Only Dream In Risky
Episode 2 – Persistence (Or When Your Best Still Sucks)
Episode 3 – Killstreaks Meets Keyframes
Episode 4 – Musical Misfits
Episode 5 – We Gave It Our Best Shot

Arcane season 2 trailer: is there one?

Caitlyn and Jayce might reunite again in Arcane season 2. (Image credit: Netflix)

No, and it’ll be a while before we get one. We’ll update this section when one is released.

Will Arcane get more seasons?

Ekko could have a big role to play in Arcane‘s second season. (Image credit: Netflix)

Yes. 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, 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, so we’re confident it’ll get more than two seasons.

Given its popularity, it’s easy to see why that would be the case. Arcane season 1 – read our season 1 cast and crew interview feature while you’re here – holds a 100% certified fresh rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes among critics, while it also has a 96% rating based on over 5,000-plus audience reviews.

Additionally, there’s plenty of story left to tell, character arcs to tie up, and new individuals and champions to introduce. Arcane, then, 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, 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 Stranger Things season 5.

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