Arcane season 2: everything we know so far about the hit Netflix show's return

Arcane season 2's release date is drawing ever closer. With each passing month, Netflix's hugely successful animated adaptation of Riot Games' beloved League of Legends (LoL) franchise moves one step closer to being back on our screens. And, honestly, we cannot wait.

In our mind, Arcane is one of the best Netflix shows ever made, so you can understand our excitement ahead of its second season dropping. By the time it's released, we'll have had to wait three years for its return on the world's best streaming service, too, but we're sure it'll be worth the wait.

In the meantime, we've rounded up everything worth knowing about Arcane season 2 ahead of its Netflix arrival. That includes information on its launch month, its confirmed and rumored cast, our thoughts on where the story will go next, and more. Major spoilers for Arcane season 1, plus potential spoilers for Arcane's second season, follow.

Arcane season 2 release date: what we know

It doesn't have an official launch date yet, but Arcane season 2's release window was finally revealed in late 2023. Indeed, it'll be released in November 2024 and we wouldn't be surprised if it arrives as close to its predecessor's November 6, 2021 launch date as possible.

Outside of the odd development update, details about season 2 have been thin on the ground. Indeed, you have to go back to mid-2023 for anything substantial – Katie Leung, who voices Caitlyn, telling Reddit user Neon_1990 that she was still recording lines as recently as last April, while co-showrunner Christian Linke took to X/Twitter in May 2023 to say that Arcane 2's soundtrack "is gonna be something very special."

However, that could change soon. Per Deadline (and confirmed in the above Fortiche Production's Instagram post), Arcane's second season will be part of Netflix's extensive line-up of animated movies and TV shows at Annecy Film Festival 2024, which runs June 9 to 15. Hopefully, we'll get a much needed update on its release date, story specifics, and cast list then.

Arcane season 2 trailer: is there one?

We're still waiting for an official Arcane season 2 trailer, but Riot Games and Netflix treated us to a first-look clip in January, which you can view above.

The footage doesn't give much away – understandably so, given the secrecy around the show's next installment – but it does hint at one big reveal to get excited about. Indeed, the first clip teases a fan-favorite LoL villain's debut in hit Netflix show, so we know we'll be seeing one new character in season 2.

As for when an official teaser will arrive, we previously speculated that we wouldn't expect one to emerge until mid-2024 at the very earliest. With Arcane season 2 having a presence at Annecy 2024, though, we could get one in mid-June. Failing that, expect one to land online around September, which tracks with Netflix's penchant for promoting its new projects one to two months before they're released.

Arcane season 2 story speculation

Netflix hasn't revealed a story synopsis for Arcane season 2 yet, but we can speculate on where things might go, based on the season 1 finale and numerous teases from its cast and crew.

First up, something of a non-spoiler nature. Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, Ella Purnell – who voices Jinx – revealed that she "cried" during a recent ADR (automated dialog replacement) session for this season's finale. Elsewhere, Kevin Alejandro, who plays Jayce, told Buzzfeed that said fans will be "on the edge of their seats", adding: "You're going to be conflicted in such a way that I don't know if it's good or bad. Like, your emotions will be pulled out of you and you'll be like 'Oh my god!' That's how you're going to end [season 2]. It's so good!" In short: prepare for another emotional rollercoaster of a season.

Full spoilers follow for Arcane season 1. Don't read past the X/Twitter post below if you're not caught up.

In the Arcane season 1 finale, Jinx fired a crystal rocket at Piltover’s council chamber, with multiple main and supporting characters trapped inside. Those present when the rocket exploded included Jayce, Mel, Viktor, Cassandra, Hoskel, Bolbok, Shoola, and Salo.

We don’t expect everyone to have survived the blast. In our view, Mel and Cassandra surely perished (for reasons we'll explain in the next paragraph) or, at the very least, have been severely injured. On Reddit, fans suspect that'll be the case, with some suggesting an animation frame from season 2 – glimpsed in Bridging the Rift episode 3 (more on this later) – might have revealed Cassandra died. It would be odd for Riot and Fortiche to ruin this potential storyline pre-release, but maybe it was intentional to see if anyone picked up on it. The frame doesn't resemble anything from season 1 so, unless it's a deleted scene from that season, we think it's part of the follow-up season.

If Mel and Cassandra were killed, Jayce and Caitlyn will be gunning for Jinx – you know, because they're Jayce’s partner and Caitlyn’s mother respectively. That could also mean Jayce walks back on his promise to give Zaun its independence from Piltover, too, given that Jinx – a Zaun citizen – carried out the attack.

Caitlyn's potential quest for vengeance would put her at odds with Vi, whom Caitlyn is close with. Vi is Jinx’s sister, so she'll likely 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 her character alliances. The latter would put her in opposition with the other two, so Vi has got a lot riding on whatever decision she makes. Speaking during a Live Q&A Panel in April 2023, Leung suggested "we get to see a different side of her in the next season", which might tie into wat we've speculated above.

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 we wouldn’t be surprised if a full-blown conflict is kicked off by her actions. During a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, Linke summed up this season's overarching narrative with the word "war", so it sounds like we could be right on the money. That'll include another showdown between Jinx and Ekko as well, according to Linke.

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."

We also expect to see Heimerdinger and Ekko collaborate further to help the undercity of Zaun in Arcane season 2. With the former 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. He’s already inadvertently murdered his childhood friend Sky thanks to his Hexcore studies and, based on other season 1 events that he was part of, it appears he’ll walk a darker path this 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, in fact", though it's unclear if this'll be part of Arcane season 2 or a future installment.

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."

As for whether we'll see these character again once Arcane season 2 finishes, That's up in the air. Indeed, next season might spell the end of our exploration of this area of Runeterra, aka the world in which the series is set. 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's regions and introduce new LoL heroes in subsequent seasons. Many fans took this to mean Vi and Jinx's story will end soon and, without clarification from Riot, that's a rumor will run until the full season is out.

Arcane season 2 cast

Only three Arcane season 2 characters (and their voice actors) have been confirmed so far:

• Hailee Steinfeld as Vi
• Ella Purnell as Jinx
• Katie Leung as Caitlyn

Determining who else will return depends on who survives the Piltover council chamber attack. As we mentioned in our plot section, we think that Mel and/or Cassandra may not survive, while any of the other council members could die or be severely injured. We expect Jayce to make it out, though, as he has a bigger role to play in proceedings.

Ekko and Heimerdinger should be back, too. They weren’t present during Jinx's attack, so they'll return and we’ll see how their character arcs progress in Arcane’s second season. Viktor is also likely to show up, even though he was in the council chamber at the time of Jinx's assault.

There are bound to be new faces introduced in Arcane season 2, too. There were plenty of deaths in the show's first outing – Silco, Vander, and Marcus to name three – so new supporting characters will be required to fill the void. Season 2's first clip confirmed we'll see one new face at least, but we have no idea who else might show up. There are tons of LoL heroes and villains that Riot, Netflix, and Fortiche can pull from the game franchise’s universe and use for the animated series, so prepare for some more announcements in the weeks and months ahead.

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:

• Episode 1 – I Only Dream In Risky
• Episode 2 – Persistence (Or When Your Best Still Sucks)
• Episode 3 – Killstreaks Meets Keyframes
• Episode 4 – Musical Misfits
• Episode 5 – We Gave It Our Best Shot

Is Arcane season 2 going to be the show's final entry?

No. In Bridging the Rift episode 2, Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent confirmed he'd told Linke that Riot's executive team had signed off on "multiple seasons". Laurent had previously suggested this in a Riot Games blog post, writing "there will be Arcane season 2 (+?)".

Of course, multiple seasons could theoretically mean Arcane seasons 1 and 2. However, it would be odd to use the word "multiple" to describe two seasons when "a couple" would suffice, so we believe more entries are on the way.

Given its popularity, it's easy to see why that would be the case. Arcane season 1 – read our Arcane eason 1 cast and crew interview feature while you're here – holds a 100% certified fresh rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes among critics, while it also has a 96% audience rating based on over 5,000-plus audience reviews.

Additionally, there’s plenty of story left to tell, character arcs to tie up, and new individuals and champions to introduce. Arcane, then, will never be short of ideas from plot or character development perspectives. We’re also big fans of Fortiche’s visuals for the animated series, so we’d be happy to see many more installments.

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.