Arcane season 2: Release date, plot, trailer, latest news for Netflix series

Co-showrunner Christian Linke teased how their storyline will play out in the new season, telling RadioTimes.com: "That was always the question from the beginning for us. Like, can they ever be sisters again? You know, there's a unique opportunity, but it's a tricky question.

"Obviously, I think it is certainly a question that the characters are asking themselves, and it's a question that I feel like we have an answer which is there, you know, maybe for people to kind of Sherlock their way through this. There are specific moments that created Jinx. And so the question really is can they be undone? I think that's really what it's all about."

While the first three episodes of season 2 are available to stream now, there are still six more to come, which are being released in two further batches.

After the final episodes, fans will have to say goodbye to the League of Legends world - at least for now, as Linke has teased that Arcane is "the first of many stories that we want to tell in Runeterra".

But when will the show's future episodes be released, and what do we know about Arcane season 2 so far? Read on for everything you need to know.

Arcane season 2 release date

Arcane season 2 will begin on Saturday 9th November, with the series being released in three parts.

So, the full release schedule is as follows:

• Act 1: 9th November 2024
• Act 2: 16th November 2024
• Act 3: 23rd November 2024

During an announcement for Netflix's Geeked Week, Ella Purnell and Hailee Steinfeld also revealed they'll be filming Arcane: Afterglow, an official after show which will involve the cast unpacking each episodes with special guests.

Season 2 of Arcane has been a long time coming for fans. Based on the online battle arena game League of Legends, developed and released by Riot Games in 2009, Arcane season 1 hit screens in 2021.

Netflix announced that same year that a second season of Arcane was officially green-lit and that the show was already "in production". Little did we know how long we'd have to wait!

Explaining the delay to the first season, Greg Street (also known as Ghostcrawler), Head of Creative Development for Riot Games, said: "Creative development and production is hard, especially in a world where you can’t see your coworkers IRL.

"We have video meetings now, which help, but they are no substitute for being in a room where we can really get the creative energy flowing.

"Combine these issues, along with the technical difficulties of production at the international scale, and the problem becomes a lot bigger."

Meanwhile, series co-creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee said of Arcane's reunion: “We’re beyond happy about the positive response to Arcane‘s first season and are working hard with the creative wizards at Riot and Fortiche to deliver our second instalment.”

Ahead of the first season’s premiere on Netflix at the beginning of November 2021, Linke spoke about how the show serves as a "love letter" to the League community, from Rioters to players.

"I think we’ve always had this dream of creating a bigger experience where it’s not just a show and you drop it, but it’s really something where we can create a conversation piece for people that have loved this IP and the characters for such a long time," he told Deadline.

"I really feel confident in the statement that everyone that works on these things feels like they’re working on the most important thing they’ve ever done in their craft," he added.

What will be the plot of Arcane season 2?

Netflix's official synopsis keeps it vague and promises: "In this final chapter, Jinx’s attack on the Council sets the stage for a dire escalation of the conflict between Piltover and Zaun."

However, Tudum has promised that the season will pick up right after the events of season 1, after Jinx launched a stolen Hextech gemstone at the Piltover council.

Things are set to get darker, with co-creator Christian Linke saying: “I think a lot of characters are the goody two-shoes of Season One, trying to avoid the open conflict between the two cities.

"And then, at the end of Season 1, it’s no longer possible to avoid that confrontation. And so, Season 2 really explores the dark sides of the characters.”

As for whether we could see some type of reconciliation between the sisters? Not likely.

Purnell teased of Jinx's journey: "She goes to an all-time low and has to finally decide, is she Jinx or is she Powder?" while Steinfeld added of Vi: "We’ve seen her deal with so much trauma, and we see her continue to do so — not always in a graceful way,” she said. “But she comes out the other side having learned a lot and having grown a lot."

Meanwhile, celebrating Geeked Week 2024, Steinfeld and Purnell shared an exclusive clip with fans and promised: "The new season dives even deeper into the worlds of Piltover and Zaun with more action, more drama, and more of the characters you love."

We can make an educated guess or two as to how the early episodes might unfold given how the first season ended – with a huge cliffhanger.

The ninth episode of Arcane, The Monster You Created, saw Jayce (voiced by Kevin Alejandro) initiate a Council vote to give Zaun independence.

The vote passed – but just at that moment a rocket fired by Jinx (Ella Purnell), who was traumatised from having killed Silco, hits the Council building.

That's how the season ended – and with tensions high throughout the nine episodes between Piltover and Zaun, it's highly likely the attack on the Council building will lead to more conflict and result in the vote for Zaun's independence being disrupted, possibly for good.

Why is Arcane ending after season 2?

Co-creator Christian Linke has said that the series ending after season 2 is simply because it was always envisioned that way - although that's something a recent report from Variety disputed, suggesting the show was originally set to have five seasons, a plan that didn't quite work out.

Despite the show's short run, Linke recently promised that even the smaller characters will get a satisfying ending.

Speaking recently in an interview with ComicBook, Linke said: "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?'

"It was just a responsibility that was always there. We can’t run away from that. We have to give everyone a proper story."

We also might expect to see more stories in the Arcane world.

“Arcane is just the beginning of our larger storytelling journey and partnership with the wonderful animation studio that is Fortiche," Linke said during a League Dev Update.

"From the very beginning, since we started working on this project, we had a very specific ending in mind, which means the story of Arcane wraps up with this second season.

"But Arcane is just the first of many stories that we want to tell in Runeterra.”

How many Arcane season 2 episodes will there be?

We're expecting to see nine episodes in Arcane season 2 - three episodes in each of the three acts.

Is there a trailer for Arcane season 2?

Yes! You can watch the trailer below:

Arcane season 2 will stream on Netflix beginning from Saturday 9th November 2024. Season 1 is available to stream now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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