Arcane Season 2 — Release Window, First-Look Video And More Info

"Arcane" was one of the biggest TV surprises of 2021. While not exactly adapting a particular story, the show was set in the fictional universe of the popular "League of Legends" from Riot Games. The result was a series that put the final nail in the coffin of the so-called video game adaptation curse. "Arcane" featured a vast, lived-in world with rich lore. The characters were complex, with their story arcs throughout the nine episodes being nuanced and thrilling to watch. 

Then there were the visuals, the show's raison d'etre. Studio Fortiche delivered the most stunning piece of TV animation in a decade, with a cinematic sense of lighting and cinematography. The action was exquisitely choreographed, the character animation resulted in nuanced performances, and the world of the show looked striking and real. The story followed sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell) and their story of separation and reunion against the backdrop of an intra-city conflict between the rich Piltover and the crime-ridden Zaun.

Unsurprisingly, "Arcane" was met with wide acclaim from fans and critics. The show won an Emmy, which sadly felt like the end of an era for Netflix as the streamer downsized its animation output. A second season, which was inevitable given the show's success, was announced almost immediately. And yet, there's been rather little information on the show's return. So here's everything we know of "Arcane" Season 2.

Riot's parent company, Tencent, first announced a release window for the second season of "Arcane" via its Video V Vision Conference in September 2023, revealing that "Arcane" will come back for Season 2 in Q4 of 2024. In November 2023, the show's official X (formerly Twitter) account posted a 15-second video featuring Jinx crossing a bridge as fire falls from above, with text announcing that Season 2 would arrive one year later, in November 2024. This makes sense since Season 1 of "Arcane" was released in November 2021 across three weeks. 

While this may seem like a long wait, it's worth pointing out that the first season of "Arcane" took six years to produce. Most of that time was spent on development to translate the world of "League of Legends" to television and for studio Fortiche to develop the unique visual style of the show. Granted, waiting three years between Seasons 1 and 2 is no small thing, but given the level of visual quality and how big the production for the first season was, the wait will be worth it.

The first season of "Arcane" ended with Jinx firing a rocket launcher toward the Piltover council just as it was approving a proposal to grant Zaun its independence. We don't yet know whether Season 2 will continue this story or go somewhere else in the vast world of Runeterra, as Riot's "League of Legends" universe often jumps around to different locations. 

That being said, it is very likely that "Arcane" will continue with the same arc, given how much of a cliffhanger it ended its first season on. This would mean that stars Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell will most likely return to voice Vi and Jinx while Katie Leung voices Caitlyn Kiramman. As for the rest of the characters, like Kevin Alejandro's Jayce, their fate is unknown due to the rocket that crashed his council meeting. 

While there's no trailer yet for "Arcane" Season 2, Netflix did drop a first-look video in January 2024. The beautifully rendered yet hauntingly horrific teaser introduces us to Singed, the Zaunite alchemist who's more than a little bit mad. The creator of the substance called Shimmer, we see Singed in his terrifying laboratory. However, the real highlight of the teaser is we get our first glimpse of the long-anticipated Warwick, a hulking werewolf chained up in Singed's lab. Based on this first-look video, we're expecting a Season 2 that's even darker and more epic than Netflix's original offering.