Arcane season 2: everything we know so far about the hit Netflix show's return
Arcane season 2: key information
- Official launch window revealed
- First-look footage debuted in January
- Voiceover work is ongoing
- Three key cast members returning
- Story should pick up straight after season 1 finale
- Creators have teased character arcs and plot details for season 2
- Soundtrack is "something very special"
- Fans concerned that season 2 could end Vi and Jinx's story
- Future seasons likely on the way
2024 has arrived and, with it, the countdown to Arcane season 2 is well and truly on.
The sophomore season of the incredibly popular TV show will be with us in November, meaning we've still got 10 months to wait until Arcane ends its long overdue arrival. In the meantime, though, we've slowly been learning more about its return on the world's best streaming service, including thetease of a fan-favorite League of Legends (LoL) villain's debut in the hit show via a first-look clip.
There's a lot more information for you to peruse about one of the best Netflix shows' second season while we wait for its grand release, too. In this guide, we've rounded up everything we know so far about Arcane season 2, including its confirmed and rumored cast, story speculation, and the Netflix series' future.
Full spoilers follow for Arcane's first season. Potential spoilers for Arcane's second entry are also discussed.
Arcane season 2 release date: what we know
November 2024.#Arcane #NetflixGeeked pic.twitter.com/adLSwFlZ5fNovember 9, 2023
Arcane's second season still doesn't have an official release date but, thanks to a surprise reveal at Netflix Geeked Week 2023, we know it'll launch in November 2024.
That's right, Arcane season 2 has a release window, but it's a long way off. Speaking to Guan Ze Yuan (via bilibili.com) earlier this year, Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent confirmed Arcane's next outing wouldn't be ready before 2024, so we should've expected a reveal like this at some point.
"It's not ready yet," Laurent said, before adding Riot and Fortiche want it to be worth releasing before it debuts on the streamer. Riot didn't know season 1 was going to be such a huge hit, so they started development later than anticipated.
#arcane Riot CEO confirmed he watched season 2 episode 3 of Arcane and that it won't come out this year. Because they didn't know Arcane S1 was going to be a success so they waited until later to make season 2 pic.twitter.com/s58g3HU2DSApril 8, 2023
Elsewhere, Katie Leung – who voices Caitlyn – told Reddit user Neon_1990 that she was still conducting voice work in April 2023. Co-showrunner Christian Linke also tweeted out in May of last year that Arcane 2's soundtrack "is gonna be something very special."
Despite these recent updates, however, Arcane's second outing clearly isn't ready to be released. The 2023 Hollywood writers and actors strikes definitely impacted its development, especially as its cast wasn't available to record lines. Still, we're happy to wait, providing it's as good as – if not better – than what's come before.
Arcane season 2 trailer: is there one?
We're still waiting for an official Arcane season 2 trailer, but Riot Games and Netflix have treated us to a first-look clip, which you can view above.
The footage doesn't give too much away – understandably so, given the secrecy around the show's next installment – but it does deliver one big reveal to get excited about. Indeed, the first clip teases a fan-favorite LoL villain's debut in hit Netflix show, so we know we'll be seeing one new character in season 2.
As for when an official teaser will arrive, we wouldn't expect one to emerge from the underworld city of Zaun until mid-2024 at the very earliest. Even then, we'd be surprised if one is unveiled before September, what with Netflix's penchant for releasing new trailers just one or two months before one of its TV Originals launches.
Arcane season 2 story speculation
Full spoilers follow for Arcane season 1.
If you’ve seen Arcane season 1, you’ll know Jinx fired a crystal rocket at Piltover’s council chamber, with many main and supporting characters trapped inside, during its final episode. 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. In our view, Mel and Cassandra will have died or, at the very least, been severely injured. On Reddit, fans suspect that'll be the case, with some suggesting an animation frame from season 2 – glimpsed in Bridging the Rift episode 3 (more on this later) – might have revealed Cassandra has perished. It would be odd for Riot and Fortiche to ruin this potential storyline pre-release, but maybe it was intentional to see if viewers 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 might be our first look at Arcane season 2.
If Mel and Cassandra die in the explosion, Jayce and Caitlyn will surely be gunning for Jinx as the former are Jayce’s partner and Caitlyn’s mother respectively. That could lead Jayce to walk back on his promise to give Zaun its independence from Piltover, too, especially with Jinx – a Zaun citizen – carrying out the attack.
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 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. Speaking during a Live Q&A Panel in April, Caitlyn voice actor Katie Leung also suggested "we get to see a different side of her in the next season."
That isn't the only thing that could divide Caitlyn and Vi. 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, 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. As we mentioned, tensions were already simmering between the nations, so we wouldn’t be surprised if a full-blown conflict begins due to Jinx’s actions. During a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, 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 try and 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 might also see whether Viktor fully loses himself completely to his Hextech research. He’s already inadvertently murdered his childhood friend Sky thanks to his Hexcore studies, plus it appears that he’ll walk a darker path this season. If we know anything about LoL lore, we could see Viktor use Hextech to cybernetically enhance his body further and become the champion that diehard 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", though 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 psyche 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, aka 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
Only three Arcane season 2 characters (and their voice actors) have been confirmed so far:
- Hailee Steinfeld as Vi
- Ella Purnell as Jinx
- Katie Leung as Caitlyn
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 rocket-fuelled assault, 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 in proceedings, including potentially seeking revenge against 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. As we mentioned in our trailer section, we'll see one new face at least, but we have no idea who else might show up. There are tons of LoL heroes and villains that Riot, Netflix, and Fortiche can pull from the game franchise’s universe and use for the animated series, so we're crossing our fingers for even more reveals in the months ahead.
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 – in late 2022 that explores the first season's lengthy development:
Will Arcane get more seasons?
Yes. In Bridging the Rift episode 2, Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent revealed he 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 suffice, so we believe we'll get more installments.
Given its popularity, it's easy to see why that would be the case. Arcane season 1 – read our Arcane eason 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% audience 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 Squid Game season 2 and Stranger Things season 5.
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