Arcane season 2: key information
– Official launch window revealed
– Will be the hit show’s final season
– Official trailer revealed in mid-June
– Trailer and first-look clips tease arrival of new League of Legend (LoL) champions
– Seven key cast members returning
– Story will pick up straight after season 1 finale
– Soundtrack is “something very special”
– New shows based on Riot’s LoL franchise are being developed
It’s taken nearly three years to make Arcane season 2, but just one day to ruin all of the hard work that its cast and crew have put into the highly anticipated Netflix show’s return.
At the time of this article’s latest update (August 9), Netflix is scrambling to pull full, albeit unfinished episodes of Arcane‘s second season from the internet after the streaming titan suffered a major data breach that led to multiple projects being leaked. We haven’t seen the leaked footage, nor do we want to – and we advise you to not only do the same, but to also be on your guard for major spoilers circulating on the web.
While you won’t find any links to said leaks here, what you will find is plenty of information on one of the best Netflix shows‘ second and final seasons. In this guide, you’ll get the lowdown on its release month, officially released trailers and clips, confirmed cast, plot details, and more. Full spoilers follow for Arcane season 1 on the world’s best streaming service.
Arcane season 2 release date prediction
It doesn’t have an official launch date but, in late 2023, Arcane season 2’s release window was revealed. It’ll arrive sometime in November 2024 and we wouldn’t be shocked if it does so as close to season 1’s own launch. The series’ first outing arrive on September 6, 2021, so we’re expecting its long-awaited follow-up to debut around that date, so either Thursday, November 7 or Friday, November 8.
It’s unclear if Arcane season 2 will release in three parts, or if all of its episodes will drop on launch day. Hopefully, we’ll learn more during Netflix Geeked Week 2024, whose teaser trailer suggested we’ll get fresh details on Arcane‘s sophomore chapter.
Arcane season 2 trailer
Unveiled on June 11, Arcane season 2’s official trailer all but confirmed that the popular Netflix series will go out with a bang.
There’s a lot packed into its 90-second runtime, too. Jinx has gone into hiding after her seemingly deadly attack on Piltover’s council in the season 1 finale, a vengeful Caitlyn is leading the chase to find her, and Vi’s allegiances are clearly torn between her sole surviving relative and new allies. That’s only scratching the surface of what it shows – but we’ll refrain from spoiling anything else for now.
The second season’s official teaser arrived just four days before a new Netflix trailer for Arcane season 2 teased new heroes, another possible time skip, and Vi’s new costume:
Piltover’s finest, on the case. #Arcane pic.twitter.com/p4sm9N7VTdJune 6, 2024
With season 2’s release looming ever closer, we’ve slowly been treated to some other first-look clips as well. The first, which arrived in January, teased a fan-favorite League of Legend villain’s debut in hit Netflix show:
The second, meanwhile, showed Heimerdinger and Ekko summon their inner Batman for an amusing stealth-based mission. It arrived in late July and you can check it out below:
Arcane season 2 cast: confirmed and rumored
Major spoilers follow for Arcane‘s first season.
Here’s the confirmed cast for Arcane season 2 so far:
- Hailee Steinfeld as Vi
- Ella Purnell as Jinx
- Katie Leung as Caitlyn
- Reed Shannon as Ekko
- Amirah Vann as Sevika
- Mick Wingert as Heimerdinger
- Ellen Thomas as Ambessa
- Brett Tucker as Singed
Determining who else will return from season 1 depends on who – if anyone – survived the Piltover council chamber attack. In the season 1 finale, Jinx fired a crystal rocket at Piltover’s council chamber. Those present when the rocket exploded included Jayce, Mel, Viktor, Cassandra, Hoskel, Bolbok, Shoola, and Salo.
Season 2’s first trailer suggests that none of them lived to fight another day, so we might not see/hear from these characters again. That said, the teaser’s footage could be a misdirect in order to preserve some big story twists.
Nothing ever stays dead. #Arcane pic.twitter.com/gEClZ15vZ9June 3, 2024
Regardless of who else returns, there’ll be plenty of new faces introduced in Arcane season 2 We’ve already know three individuals, aka the unnamed trio of Piltover Enforcers stood alongside Caitlyn and Vi in this section’s main image, will make their debuts, while another League of Legends (LoL) champion – the rodent-looking Zaun citizen with mechanical claws and a top hat, who looks like a revised version of LoL‘s Kled – will also appear.
One thing is for sure: there’ll be one big-name player who, likely due to spoilers, hasn’t been officially announced as part of the season 2 roster. Seen above, Arcane season 2’s gorgeous new poster has hinted at this fan-favorite character’s return, but all we’ll say for now is don’t expect them to be a hero this time around.
Arcane season 2 plot synopsis and rumors
Here’s the official albeit incredibly brief story synopsis for Arcane season 2: “In this final chapter, Jinx’s attack on the Council sets the stage for a dire escalation of the conflict between Piltover and Zaun.”
Not much to go on, but it sounds like the show’s next installment will be even more of an emotional gut-punch than its forebear. Speaking to TechRadar, Ella Purnell – who voices Jinx – revealed that she “cried” during an ADR (automated dialog replacement) session for this season’s finale in early April. Have your tissues at the ready, everyone.
Full spoilers follow for Arcane season 1. Don’t read past the X/Twitter post below if you haven’t watched it.
Yeah, it sounds like #arcane fans should prepare themselves for an emotionally devastating second season of the hit Netflix show. Read more, with quotes from voice actor Ella Purnell (aka Jinx) in another of my exclusives: https://t.co/m9f3TZvWgHApril 9, 2024
As mentioned in our cast section, the story thread that Arcane season 2 needs to tackle is the fallout from the Piltover council chamber attack. In our view, we’d be surprised if Cassandra (Caitlyn’s mom), Jayce, and Mel (Jayce’s partner and Ambessa’s daughter) – to name the most important individuals – have made it out alive.
Sure, they might have, but season 2’s first trailer hints that they’ve perished. On Reddit, fans are certainly convinced that Cassandra has died, with some suggesting an animation frame from season 2 – glimpsed in Bridging the Rift episode 3 (more on this later) – might have revealed as much. It would be odd for Riot and Fortiche to ruin this potential storyline pre-release, but the frame doesn’t resemble anything from season 1. Unless it’s a deleted scene from that season, then, we think it’s part of the show’s second entry.
If Mel and Cassandra (at the very least) were killed, Jayce, Ambessa, and Caitlyn will be gunning for Jinx. That could also mean Jayce walks back on his promise to give Zaun its independence from Piltover, given that Jinx – a Zaun citizen – carried out the attack, which leads to all-out war between the two cities.
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
Despite the first teaser suggesting they’ll work together to locate Jinx, Caitlyn’s quest for vengeance will likely put her at odds with Vi, whom Caitlyn is close with. Vi is Jinx’s sister, so she’ll be caught in a difficult situation: help Caitlyn and Jayce to bring her sister to justice, or try to keep Jinx safe from harm at the cost of the alliances she’s forged. Vi appears reluctant to have joined the Piltover Enforcers in season 2’s official teaser, so we expect things to come to a head between Vi and Caitlyn at some stage – especially if a) Vi wants to find Jinx alone, and b) Vi was pushed into joining the Enforcers by Caitlyn in the first place.
That isn’t the only thing that could divide Caitlyn and Vi. Responding to a fan on X/Twitter (see below) about whether Caitlyn knows that it was Vi and her gang who blew up Jayce’s lab in season 1’s opening act, Arcane scriptwriter Amanda Overton revealed that wasn’t the case. Will Caitlyn learn the truth in season 2? Place your bets now.
That all said, it sounds like season 2 could actually see Vi and Caitlyn’s relationship grow stronger. Speaking at the 2022 BAFTAs (per The Digital Fix), showrunner Alex Yee said fans “will be happy” with that progression, 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.”
Away from that duo, expect the brewing war between Piltover and Zaun to take center stage. Tensions were already simmering between the nations before Jinx’s reckless act, so a full-blown conflict is ready to erupt. During a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, Linke summed up this season’s overarching narrative with the word “war”, which certainly plays into the first trailer’s ominous tones.
Additionally, Yee teased (via Netflix Queue) how the battle lines have already 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.”
Intercity conflict aside, as evidenced by the clip released in July, Heimerdinger and Ekko will continue to collaborate to help the undercity of Zaun. After the former was voted off Piltover’s council in episode 7, he encountered an injured Ekko (following his battle with Jinx) on Zaun’s streets in episode 8. The pair bonded over their shared affinity of technology and, after Heimerdinger helps Ekko to return home, they decide to unite to try and ease Zaun’s suffering.
We might also see whether Viktor fully loses himself completely to his Hextech research – you know, providing he returns in season 2, which hasn’t been announced yet. He inadvertently murdered his childhood friend Sky thanks to his Hexcore studies and, based on the rest of his season 1 character arc, it appears he’ll walk a darker path if he appears next 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“. Color us excited.
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”. November can’t come soon enough.
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:
Ahead of season 2’s launch, fans can not only rewatch the first season and Bridging the Rift multiple times, but also listen to its banging soundtrack to their heart’s content. Indeed, Arcane season 1’s licensed soundtrack is available to buy on vinyl right now, so why not grab yourself a copy?
Powder and Violet – experience their story from sketch to screen.‘The Art and Making of Arcane’ Artbook, featuring S1 & S2, available for pre-order now: https://t.co/sDWnVW29bH pic.twitter.com/ZNT82ctbFcJuly 24, 2024
If that isn’t enough on the memorabilia front, an official ‘Making of’ book is set to be released later this year, too. Titled ‘The Art and Making of Arcane’, the hardback will feature “never-before seen artwork from seasons 1 and 2, interviews with the creators, and unique collectibles”, according to a Riot press release. Pre-orders are open now on three different editions – Artifact, Portfolio, and Standard, all of whom contain different extras – ahead of their official launches on December 31, 2024.
Want even more physical media? You can pre-order your copy of one of four Arcane season 1 physical boxsets today, too. The Standard Blu-ray, Steel Book Blu-ray, Steel Book 4K UHD, and Collector’s Edition are available via the Gkids (US), All the Anime and Plaion Pictures (UK), and Sugoi (Australia) online stores.
Is Arcane season 2 going to be the show’s final entry?
Unfortunately, yes. Announced in a press release alongside its official trailer, Riot and Netflix confirmed Arcane season 2 will be the show’s final installment.
Elaborating on why the duo are calling time on the hit series, Arcane co-creator Christian Linke said: “From the very beginning, since we started working on this project, we had a very specific ending in mind, which means the story of Arcane wraps up with this second season.”
A message from #Arcane show co-creator @praeco on bringing the story to a close. pic.twitter.com/TlEhH1EWmYJune 11, 2024
Disappointing as that may be, Riot, Netflix, and Fortiche aren’t done with their animated LoL adaptations. Linke continued: “But, Arcane is just the first of many stories that we want to tell in Runeterra. Arcane is just the beginning of our larger storytelling journey and partnership with the wonderful animation studio that is Fortiche.
“Vi and Jinx’s arcs have grown so far beyond our original dreams for them, so we wanted to give the same treatment to more [LoL] champions. We’re currently working on our next projects across television and film, and we’re hopeful we can share more by the end of the year. We’re still really early in the stages of that process, and these things do take a lot of time, but we’d like to share updates with you whenever we can.”
Really, we should’ve seen this coming. 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 (the fictional world Arcane and LoL are set in) and introduce new LoL heroes in subsequent seasons. Many fans took this to mean Vi and Jinx’s story will end – and that’s proven to be the case.
Sad though we are that Arcane is ending, there are plenty of other stories to tell and new characters to fall in love with within Runeterra. And, if any and all of its follow-up projects are half as good as Arcane is (if not better), we can’t wait to see what Riot, Netflix, and Fortiche are cooking up.
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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