What Will Arcane’s Sequel Be?

Arcane is an incredible first television outing for Riot Games, garnering four Emmy Awards in 2022, including Best Animated Program. Since the spell-binding finale of Season 2, one question has been left hanging in the air: what will the sequel be about? In November 2024, co-creator Christopher Linke announced that the latest set of episodes would bring the first League of Legends adaptation to an end. Since then, Linke has revealed very little.

Riot Games has made it evidently clear that whenever or whatever the sequel series to Arcane is, audiences won’t be hearing about it for many years to come. The rumor that three separate Arcane spin-offs were simultaneously in development has been thoroughly debunked by the co-creator. However, what has been confirmed is that the animation studio Fortiche will explore three specific League of Legends regions in future TV and film projects: Demacia, Ionia, and Noxus.

Related

Arcane Star Admits They Didn’t Think The Series Would End After Season 2

One of the Arcane stars admitted they were not expecting the hit animated TV series to end after two seasons because they weren’t informed about it.

Riot Games Has Lessons To Learn From Arcane

In an exclusive Variety article by Andrew Wallenstein, Marc Merill confirmed that Riot Games is still committed to producing and writing material for film and television, stating in an email that their “ambitions in entertainment haven’t changed.” However, the company has acknowledged that whilst Arcane was technically a massive success commercially and critically, it will most likely lead to a loss overall financially. The series is rumored to have cost a total of $250 million, and with an 18-episode line-up, that means it’s the most expensive budget for any animated show in the history of television. Merill explained:

This clarification that the show had an overextended production schedule would go a long way in explaining the hefty pricetag. The company is clearly adjusting to the challenges of creating a product like this and, after reviewing its latest work, it may be giving itself as much time as it needs in order to ensure the next adaptation doesn’t run into the same issues, financially or organizationally. In fact, Riot Games may simply be refocusing on creating quality games for its players; something that companies like Sony have been struggling with recently.

New League of Legends Content May Hint At Future TV Adaptations

In January, Riot released a brand-new promo for League of Legends’ next chunk of seasonal content: ‘Welcome to Noxus.’ This trailer showcases the debut of the first-ever season solely dedicated to the dark and mysterious region. Players look set to further explore the ferocious, savage, and marauding empire of the Noxians.

This region of the world welcomes a much darker, creepier, and more horror-oriented side to the magic of the League of Legend’s universe. It is home to the nefarious Black Rose, a secret organization that has used magic to influence the power of the throne of Noxus for thousands of years. However, the trailer offers more than just atmosphere, allowing gamers to have a look at some of Black Rose’s key players: Vladimir, Elise, and LeBlanc, the leader of the Black Rose who made frequent appearances towards the end of Arcane’s second season.

This promotional video may also be the first real clue as to what audiences can expect from future League of Legends TV adaptations. Arcane gave a lot of screen time and attention to the characters of Ambessa Medarda, a warlord from the Noxian Empire, and her exiled daughter Mel. However, their backstories and futures are still yet to be fully explored onscreen. The history of Ambessa’s feud with LeBlanc, why Mel was exiled in the first place, and how these new powers will aid in her return to the Noxian homeland — all of these are yet to receive a scripted treatment. This makes ‘Welcome to Noxus’ feel like a suitable continuation and answer to some of the storylines left unfinished by the TV show.

This also lends further credence to the idea that, going forward, the Netflix series’ timeline will have more of an influence on the games. In the trailer, LeBanc mentions that “Piltover was a lesson,” and that their “next move must be bolder. Not safer.” So, the events of Arcane’s second season have clearly reshaped how the Black Rose will respond to threats in the games. Perhaps, now that the Black Rose has become more acquainted with Hextech, it will view the city as more of a threat and make plans to deal with Piltover in a future onscreen sequel.

As the TV show influences the games, the games will probably determine the topic of the next TV series. If ‘Welcome To Noxus’ is a hit with gamers, then it will be a great litmus test for how a wider audience may react to another adaptation. It’s a cyclical production of screen and gaming content, with one medium informing decisions about the other, which could help Riot Games manage the cost of their screen material better. League of Legends is not confirmed to return to Netflix for another series yet, but until further announcements, ‘Welcome To Noxus’ should be enough to satisfy a fanbase crying out for more Arcane content.

Arcane

Release Date

2021 – 2023

Showrunner

Christian Linke, Alex Yee

Directors

Pascal Charrue, Arnaud Delord

• 
• 

•