We’re finally headed back to Piltover, with Arcane Season 2 just around the corner. Here’s what you need to know, plus which League of Legends Champions could appear in the Netflix series.
When Jinx attacked Piltover’s councilors in the Arcane Season 1 finale, the LoL animated series ended dramatically.
The fight for Jinx’s troubled soul, Viktor’s Hex-tech evolution, and Warwick are just three threads that will be explored in Season 2.
We’ve got a release date, a couple of teasers, the full trailer, and heaps of leftover trauma. So, let’s dive into Netflix’s best TV show’s return.
Arcane Season 2 release dates
Netflix has confirmed the release dates for the acts of Arcane Season 2. Act 1 will be released on November 9, with Act 2 released a week after on November 16, finally, Act 3 will release on November 23, 2024.
✨flash warning✨A new fighter has entered the ring. Experience Vi's journey in the final chapter of Arcane. Act 1 premieres November 9, Act 2 on November 16, and Act 3 on November 23. #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/drar6CWio6
— Netflix (@netflix) September 20, 2024
It truly has been an agonizingly long wait. Riot Games and Fortiche animation have been committed to quality over quantity from day one, though, and we’re here for it.
Arcane Season 2 cast
Hailee Steinfeld as Vi, Ella Purnell as Jinx, and Katie Leung as Caitlyn Kiramman are confirmed for Arcane Season 2’s cast.
Arcane Season 2 confirmed cast:
- Hailee Steinfeld as Vi
- Ella Purnell as Jinx
- Katie Leung as Caitlyn Kiramman
- Reed Shannon as Ekko
- Jason Spisak as Silco (flashback)
- JB Blanc as Vander (flashback)
The story’s two central opposing forces, Vi and Jinx, will continue being anchors. Caitlyn will also be back. We know this trio returns because of the Season 2 announcement trailer, in which we hear Caitlyn reckon with the events of Season 1. “Every way I slice it, if I go after your sister alone, one of us comes back in a box.”
We also heard Jinx saying “I’m glad it’s you… had to be you.”
We’ll likely see topsiders like Mel and Jayce return to the fray, as well as everyone who survived the carnage in the first season.
Ekko is for sure back, as Reed Shannon has talked about recording lines for a devastating Season 2 finale… we’re scared.
In a Reddit AMA, Arcane co-creator Christian Linke said we will see flashbacks of Silco and Vander, pre-betrayal, and Silco molding young Powder. This means the return of Jason Spisak and JB Blanc.
Spisak confirmed this on the Izuko Unscripted podcast, “I’ve recorded lines for Season 2.”
A nightmarish augmentation.Brace yourself for #Arcane Season 2, coming this November. pic.twitter.com/MyiGRlqzdk
— Arcane (@arcaneshow) January 5, 2024
We’ll see more of Blanc, considering Netflix teased he will be back in a new form: Warwick. Created by Singed in LoL lore, the character had long been rumored to join Season 2.
What is the Season 2 plot?
Christian Linke said Arcane Season 2 is about “war”. He chose that when asked to describe Season 2’s story in one word during the same Reddit AMA.
We can tell from the announcement trailer that Caitlyn wants to track down Jinx in Arcane Season 2. We’ve also been shown Warwick being created, so we can assume he will be an antagonist.
The chemtech-infused, machine-augmented werewolf was a father figure in his previous life if he is indeed Vander. Now, there’s no telling how much of his humanity is left. It’s safe to say Jinx and Vi will not have an easy time if they have to go up against their former protector.
Vi will surely also continue to be pulled between Jinx and Caitlyn. Her little sister launched a rocket at Piltover’s council room. Caitlyn’s mother was in it, so the strain between the different relationships will be a pressure point for Vi.
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She still wants to save her sister’s soul, but Jinx committed to her new persona at the end of Season 1, so heartbreakingly, it may prove fruitless.
The Season 2 poster, seen above, is an interesting point. It mirrors the Season 1 scene where a bereft powder is in Silco’s arms, scared and angry after killing her friends.
In this new poster, Vi is the one being held and Jinx is the dark shadowy figure with her arms around her. This points to Jinx’s evolution into a villain and Vi’s helplessness when trying to pull her back from the brink.
Is there an Arcane teaser?
The full series trailer for Arcane Season 2 dropped on October 16, 2024. Check it out below:
Titled ‘Come Play’, the trailer cuts between key moments in Season 1 that led up to the all-out war between Piltover and Zaun. All different groups are shown before the ultimate fight between Vi and Jinx is teased at the end.
The video follows the previous first-look footage released on January 5, 2024, which teases Warwick.
Netflix lent credence to the Warwick chatter with the dark, grimy teaser, which shows Singed up to no good. The chemtech-infused, machine-augmented werewolf will likely be a source of real tension, because of who he was when he was a human.
Following this, the full Arcane Season 2 teaser trailer was released on June 11, 2024. It also brought with it the reveal that Arcane Season 2 would be the final season.
Another teaser for Arcane Season 2 was published on July 21, 2024. It shows Heimerdinger and Ekko in the midst of a nail-biting stealth mission. Well, Heimerdinger is treating it seriously at any rate.
Netflix has also revealed a new trailer for Arcane on September 20, 2024, as part of their GeekedWeek. The trailer shows Vi’s journey through the underground fighting ring in Zaun.
Will there be an Arcane Season 3?
Arcane Season 2 is the show’s final season, as showrunner Christian Linke explained, but not the end of the expanded League of Legends-inspired universe.
“Arcane is just the beginning of our larger storytelling journey and our partnership with the wonderful animation studio in Paris called Fortiche,” Linke explained.
“[Vi and Jinx’s] arcs have grown so far beyond our original dreams for them, and we want to give the same treatment to more champions. So we’re currently working on our next projects across television and film, and we’re hopeful that we can share more by the end of the year.”
Why Arcane Season 2 took so long
Arcane Season 2 took a long time for the same reasons Season 1 did: expertly crafted animation and pauses in production.
The first season took six years if you include pre and post-production. That includes periods where the series wasn’t actively worked on because of development problems covered in the docu-series Bridging the Rift.
Fortiche’s creative process is painstakingly detailed, so the series deviates from industry standards, creating a lengthier production. Creating a full-length original soundtrack with more tracks than most new TV shows likely plays a part too.
Arcane Season 2 premieres on Netflix on November 9, 2024. Until then, read about how 2021 resurrected Riot Games, six games that need an Arcane-style TV show, and the TV shows streaming this month.