Everything We Know About Alice In Borderland Season 2 So Far

"What if 'Battle Royale' and 'Saw' had a sick, twisted baby that puts its characters through a series of manipulative, tortuous games — usually with a high body and splatter count?" 

That's how /Film's Hoai-Tran Bui previously described this Netflix series, which is a live-action adaptation of the original manga by Haro Aso. Although "Alice in Borderland" perhaps hasn't managed to make quite as big of a wave as a certain other Netflix show that has successfully become a global sensation, many have used the popularity of the latter to recommend more people to watch the former. The similarities seem obvious enough on the surface, but "Alice in Borderland" stands apart in terms of character, subject matter, and good ol' fashioned twists and turns. With its very successful first season in the bag, Netflix wasted no time in renewing the series for a second follow-up season. Here's everything we know so far about what's to come in another installment of "Alice in Borderland."

There is currently no release date for season 2 of "Alice in Borderland," but a little investigative work can at least narrow it down a bit. First things first, all eight episodes of "Alice in Borderland" season 1 are currently streaming on Netflix. After filming began in August of 2019, the series initially premiered on the streamer on December 10, 2020. Factoring in standard production timescales, delays caused by the ongoing pandemic, and the knowledge that filming for season 2 began in July of 2021 and won't be completed until the end of the year, it stands to reason that season 2 won't premiere before sometime in the second or third quarter of 2022.

The events of the first season of "Alice in Borderland" covered roughly half of the original manga series of the same name, which at least suggests a general template for the next season should the pace of storytelling remain the same. Season 1 concluded with the protagonist Arisu's hard-fought journey through the treacherous network of violent games, making it all the way to the "Ten of Hearts" ... only for Arisu's two friends Korube and Chota to sacrifice themselves in the attempt to give Arisu a better chance of success. The season ends with the promise (read: threat) of a whole new round of bloody games to survive, leaving viewers just as exhausted as the survivors.

The first season of "Alice in Borderland" was directed by Shinsuke Sato and written by Sato, Yoshiki Watabe, Yasuko Kuramitsu. There has been no information on whether the trio will return to fill the same roles in season 2, but it's hard to see Netflix wanting to part ways with the creatives who helped make season 1 such a resounding success — especially considering that Netflix renewed the show barely two weeks after the series premiered.

Kento Yamazaki is expected to return as the main lead Ryōhei Arisu along with other recurring cast members whose characters survived the carnage, including Tao Tsuchiya as Yuzuha Usagi, Aya Asahina as Hikari Kuina, Nijirō Murakami as Shuntarō Chishiya, Riisa Naka as Mira Kano, and Sho Aoyagi as Aguni Morizono.