Arcane boss on why it's finishing with season 2 and promises gratifying end
"There was never this question of, 'Oh, when will it end? We don’t know.' We knew from the start."
Animated series Arcane, the fantasy show based on multiplayer battle arena game League of Legends, proved popular with fans and critics when it debuted in 2021, but that hasn't stopped the show's creators bringing it to an early end, after just two seasons.
While fans may be disappointed by this decision, series co-creator Christian Linke has now explained why the team took this decision, and revealed this was always the plan from the start.
Speaking recently in an interview with ComicBook, Linke said: "We always had a story in mind with a beginning and an end. I think it was really just the character arcs. We knew that there was a specific thing we wanted to do.
"We didn’t necessarily have a specific episode count in mind, but we always knew it would be a finite story.
"It wasn’t this open-ended concept for a series. It was pretty organic for us, so there was never this question of, 'Oh, when will it end? We don’t know.' We knew from the start."
Linke added that it was "daunting" bringing all the show's different plot threads and each character's arcs to a satisfying conclusion.
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He continued: "I don’t know how many TV shows you’ve watched where 10 or 11 characters all get a satisfying full arc paid off and resolved. I don’t think I have. It’s daunting. It was just part of what we built. We wanted this kind of ensemble story.
"That’s the thing about a video game adaptation. There’s always going to be someone, no matter if you banish one character into this side-character land, there are going to be millions of people who will be like, 'What the f**k? What about my character? Why aren’t they getting their proper arc?'
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"It was just a responsibility that was always there. We can’t run away from that. We have to give everyone a proper story."
Season 2 will pick up after season 1 ended on a dramatic cliffhanger, with sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell) ending up on opposite sides in a brutal war between the city of Piltover and its underbelly Zaun.
Arcane season 2 will be released on Netflix in November 2024. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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