Release, Cast and Everything We Know So Far

Netflix’s Arcane is coming back for a Season 2, taking fans back into the animated world of Riot Games’ League of Legends. 

The first batch of episodes was a massive success for the streaming giant, telling a gripping tale of two sisters in a stunningly animated and stylish package. 

Season 1 earned near-universal acclaim (currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes), causing Netflix to quickly greenlight a sophomore effort. 

Updates have been few and far between on the second season of Arcane, but fans can rest easy knowing there is more on the way. 

When Is Arcane Season 2 Releasing?

The release timing for Arcane Season 2 is currently unknown. Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent recently remarked that “it’s unfortunately not going to be this year” as the team strives for “quality:”

“So, I just watched the third episode of Season 2 before my flight to China. We’re making progress on it. It is not ready yet, and there are two reasons for that. One, you want the quality. We just do not want to rush, and that takes time. So that’s a good reason.”

Co-showrunner Christian Linke said that Season 2 scripts were completed back in 2022, with Linke (along with producer Alex Yee) saying in a Reddit AMA that “some amount of tweaks” would also happen throughout the process: 

“There’s always some amount of tweaks that happen in the process. Seeing story boards & hearing voices for the first time makes you realize that something doesn’t quite click, or there’s new opportunities you didn’t recognize before.”

The first season took about six years to come to completion; however, Laurent reassured fans that Season 2 will not take nearly as long.

Reducing that six-year number slightly could mean the series makes its triumphant return sometime in 2024. Although given the longer-than-usual production process Arcane Season 1 saw, Season 2 could potentially take even longer.

Who’s Cast In Arcane Season 2?

Only three actors have been confirmed to appear in Arcane Season 2. The trio of returning actors, confirmed by way of Season 2’s announcement trailer, are Ella Purnell as Jinx, Hailee Steinfeld as Vi, and Katie Leung as Caitlyn Kiramman.

Other familiar faces expected to appear in the series are Kevin Alejandro (Jayce Talis), Toks Olagundoye (Mel Medarda), Harry Lloyd (Viktor), Reed Shannon (Ekko), Mick Wingert (Cecil B. Heimerdinger), and Amirah Vann (Sevika). 

However, some of the confirmed voice cast may not be back for Arcane‘s second season, depending on what characters survived the Piltover explosion that capped off the Season 1 finale. 

What Will Happen in Arcane Season 2?

Plot details for Arcane‘s second season remain scarce, but there are a few directions the series could go in the wake of the Season 1 finale. 

Following Jinx’s bombing of the Piltover chambers, it will be fascinating to see which council members survive the attack that took place during the Zaun independence vote.

It is likely that Jayce will make it out of the rubble relatively unscathed, simply because he is a significant character in both the series and the League of Legends game the series is built on. Meanwhile, Piltover councilors Mel and Cassandra may not fare as well, with their injuries and potential likely serving as motivation for Jayce (a close friend of Mel) and Katie Leung’s Caitlyn (the daughter of Cassandra) in Season 2. 

When it comes to the other members of the council (Viktor, Hoskel, Bolbok, Shoola, and Salo), it is anyone’s guess if they were to make it out of Jinx’s attack. 

If some of the council were to die because of the bombing, this could play into the vote to give Zaun its independence being sustained. Moments before the Jinx’s rocket connected with the Piltover capital building, the council was voting through a movement to give the undercity its own autonomy, but this hostile act from across the Zaun border could change everything. 

Season 2 will likely see Hailee Steinfeld’s Vi (along with Caitlyn) back living in Ekko’s Firelight utopia in the undercity. And despite Jinx sparing her sister and opting to kill the villainous Silco, the relationship between her and Vi may not be repairable. 

Given the power vacuum left in the wake of Silco’s death, names like the scientist Singed could rise the ranks and take advantage of the Zaun’s newly-introduced freedom. Singed played a minor part in Acrane Season 1, but some have speculated that the Shimmer-filled beast seen in his laboratory, Warwick, could actually be Vi and Jinx’s father, Vander. 

Perhaps Season 2 could see Vander’s pair of daughters dealing with the revelation that their father is actually alive, with the two dealing with this news in their own completely differing ways. 

What League Champions Could Be in Arcane Season 2?

Given that Arcane is based on the hit online multiplayer game League of Legends (LoL), part of the fun for gamers watching the series was picking out familiar characters they know and love from Riot’s beloved MOBA. And the potential for even more champions coming to Season 2 is sky-high.

Blitzcrank

One of the most likely LoL champions to appear is the mechanical Steam Golum Blitzcrank. After the traumatic events Hextech scientist Viktor went through in Season 1, if he were to survive Jinx’s capital attack, he could be driven to lean into a much more mechanical point of view. He may look to utilize Hextech to power full-blown humanoids like the fan-favorite Blitzcrank. 

Dr. Mundo

Another name that could pop up is the purple-skinned monster, Dr. Mundo. The character was already teased in Season 1 of the hit Netflix series, appearing for a split-second on a torn poster seen in the undercity of Zaun. While likely not the main antagonist, it would not be that surprising if Dr. Mundo were to show up as a secondary villain to Season 2’s big bad. 

Twitch

As mentioned, Singed is a key character to watch in Acrane Season 2. Along with the theory his shimmer experiments could lead to the revival of Vi and Jinx’s father as the monstrous wolf-human hybrid Warwick, he could also lead to more League champions being introduced. The most recognizable of these is the crossbow-wielding rat, Twitch.

Early in Season 1 (before the time jump after Episode 3), Singed can be seen experimenting on rats, potentially hinting that Twitch is already out there in the world by the time Season 2 kicks off. 

Season 1 of Arcane is available to stream on Netflix worldwide now.