Viewers shouldn’t expectArcaneseason 3, but that doesn’t mean theLeague of Legendsstory is over. Based on the tremendously popularLeague of Legendsgame,Arcanehas wowed viewers over the course of its two seasons. It’s a stunning combination of skillful writing, incredibly beautiful animation, and deep characterization, making this one of the most unpredictable and exciting Netflix animated shows to date.
Arcaneseason 2 is now complete, with a staggering ending that saw many characters finally evolve into theirLeague of Legendsform as Champions of Runeterra. That ending felt surprisingly open-ended, though, and it was clearly setup for something more; “Our story isn’t over,” Caitlyn reassured viewers, and that felt very much like a promise. So what do we know about the future ofArcane?
Riot Don’t Plan To Release Arcane Season 3
There were only ever plans for two seasons
There were initially confusing reports that Riot intended to make a whopping five seasons ofArcane, but this was based on a misunderstanding; asLeague of Legendscreator Marc Merill explained onReddit, there were initially budget conversations about creating five seasons of shows in total. ButArcanewas only ever intended to run for two seasons, with the story wrapping up so the franchise could head in other directions. That fits well with certain character deaths inArcaneseason 2’s finale, which leave the story in a remarkably open-ended place.
Arcane Season 2 Is Setup For An Expanding League Of Legends Universe
There’s still so much more to come
The open-ended finale ofArcaneseason 2 is entirely appropriate, though, becausethere will be more stories set in theLeague of Legendsuniverse. Indeed, this is implied by Merill’s own comments - he suggested budget conversations about five seasons of shows, after all. Speaking toCollider,Arcaneco-creator Christian Linke confirmed the scale of Riot’s ambition:
“We’re currently developing a bunch of follow-up projects. Really,Arcanewas always considered the first step, kind of like the trial by fire. You need to figure out, “Can we do this? Do we have the chops? Do we have the characters? Do we have the storytelling?” So, now we’re working on the follow-up projects and it’s really fun to start to look at some of the other characters and regions of our world.
Arcaneseason 2 introduced theBlack Rose, which clearly seemed like setup for an increasing focus on Noxus - a vital part of theLeague of Legendsworld. Meanwhile, the threat ofHextechis far from resolved, because Jayce introduced it across the world when he created two-way Hexgates for trade with Piltover. It’s so very easy to see the story potential here.
Butviewers may have to wait a while for more adventures set in theArcaneuniverse. There was a three-year gap betweenArcaneseasons 1 and 2, after all, and the creative team don’t seem to be in a rush to make more adventures. To return to Merill’s comments on Reddit:
“Just because that is our intent, doesn’t mean it’s easy or that we can pump these things out like a factory - just like making games that are worthy of players time / love is really hard, so too is telling great stories and making incredible shows / films (especially when we are building it from scratch for the first time).”
Still, as Ekko proved inArcaneseason 2, all things are just a matter of time.
Arcane
Cast
Arcane is an animated series set in the League of Legends universe, debuting in 2021. It explores the conflict between the affluent city of Piltover and the oppressed undercity of Zaun. Central to the story are two sisters whose allegiance to opposing sides of a technological and ideological war strains their bond.
