Audiences are hyped to see Netflix’s animated masterpiece Arcane continue where it left off with its second season. Based on Riot Games’ ever-popular video game, League of Legends, this award-winning streaming series became a surprise hit when it first premiered, appealing to fans of the classic game and newcomers to the franchise.
And after season 1’s shocking cliffhanger ending, fans just can’t wait for more episodes to drop on Netflix. But as everyone is forced to be patient, in the meantime, they can at least read everything that is clear about Arcane season 2 so far.
When does Arcane season 2 release?
The first season of Arcane was announced in 2019 before premiering on Netflix in November 2021, which is when season 2 got the green light. Despite the fact that season 1 took six years to make, Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent did promise everyone on Twitter that it wouldn’t take as long to make the second season.
It’s safe to assume this now-popular animated show will debut at least sometime this year. Even so, the amount of hard work that goes into animating such a show makes it more likely that the second season with air in 2024.
Development stages
It isn’t easy to pinpoint exactly how far season 2 is toward its completion, but there is plenty of evidence that seems to prove it is almost finished. For instance, co-showrunner Christian Linke announced on Reddit that the second season’s scripts were completed back in November 2022.
And in February of this year, Linke went to Twitter to request some suggestions for music artists whose songs could be used for the show, suggesting that the studio has nearly wrapped up editing.
Where does it take place?
Season 1 took place in the neighboring cities of Piltover and Zaun. While Piltover is a bright and prosperous utopia, Zaun lies beneath this “City of Progress” in a state of perpetual darkness and poverty. The Zaunites’ oppression at the hands of their wealthy neighbors has caused both cities to be embroiled in a terrible and hateful conflict that reached its apex in the season 1 finale.
Since the majority of the series has taken place in these two cities, it seems unlikely that season 2 will step outside these territories. Nevertheless, League of Legends is renowned for its worldbuilding, as the realm of Runeterra is vast and filled with many different civilizations. Therefore, it is possible that audiences can catch a glimpse of the settlements beyond the limits of Piltover and Zaun.
What’s the story?
While Arcane depicts the battle between Piltover and Zaun, in actuality, the series revolves around the strained relationship between siblings Vi and Jinx, who have each grown up to fight on opposite sides of this conflict. And after killing her paternal figure Silco, Jinx has accepted that she is not the person she was as a child and that she has grown too far apart from his sister, Vi.
Thus, the season 1 finale ends with Jinx renouncing his identity as Powder and firing a Hextech missile at the Piltover council just as they voted to give Zaun its independence. Such an ironic twist of fate could very well ignite the war between these two cities that has been brewing for so long. It may even intensify the conflict between the two once-close siblings to the point that they become bitter enemies akin to Rhaenyra and Alicent in House of the Dragon.
The main players
There aren’t many details about who will appear in the second season, but because many of the characters are at the site targeted by Jinx’s rocket, including Jayce, Viktor, and Mel, it’s anyone’s guess who will survive. Likewise, if the leaders of Piltover and Zaun don’t survive this attack, chances are that audiences will see some new characters take their place.
However, showrunners Christian Linke and Alex Yee revealed that three new Champions would be introduced in the new season. Since Piltover and Zaun will likely go to war, it would make sense for their leaders to bring in fighters to support them in their conflict. Amongst these new Champions is the Lady of Clockwork, Orianna, whose entire body is made of clockwork that’s powered by Hextech, and the Howler, Warwick, who was seen in Singed’s lab in the season 1 finale. In addition, the wind spirit Janna will appear in some capacity, likely to aid the people of Zaun as their guardian deity.
While Vander and Silco bit the dust in season 1, they will reportedly return in flashbacks to when they were still friends, and the latter will be shown when he was raising Jinx long before his death. Fans have also come to believe Vander was revived as the mutant beast Warwick following his demise, which could make for a frightening reunion for Vi and Jinx. Since the games had a wide variety of Champions, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the show brought many more of them into the war between Piltover and Zaun.
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