Arcane season 2 finally has a Netflix release window, but it's a long way off
Finally, two years after its predecessor ended, Arcane season 2 has a release window – but fans face a long wait for the hit show's next installment.
Announced as part of its 2023 Geeked Week celebrations, Netflix confirmed that Arcane season 2 will make its debut next year. However, fans of the hugely successful animated series, which is based on Riot Games' popular League of Legends (LoL) franchise, will have to wait until November 2024 to reunite with Vi, Jinx, and the rest of the show's eclectic cast of characters on one of the best streaming services.
The official confirmation came via Netflix and Arcane's social media channels, with posts – including on X (formerly Twitter) – announcing Arcane's return to our screens in late 2024.
Like you, we're delighted to learn about Arcane season 2's launch window, but its eventual release is still 12 months away. One of the best Netflix shows' sophomore season has already been in development for two years – Netflix announced that a second season was on the way in November 2021 – meaning three years will have elapsed by the time Arcane is making us laugh, cry, and revel in its gorgeous action sequences once more.
Irritating as the lengthy delay is, though, we shouldn't complain. There's a reason why Arcane is one of the most highly-rated Netflix series of all time. Projects like this take time, money, and lots of care and attention to make them as good as possible. Arcane season 1 was such an unexpected success – it was the first streaming show to win a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program, for crying out loud – that its successor needs to be as good, if not better, to elevate the show further. In short: we're happy to wait a bit (alright, a lot) longer if it means Arcane's next entry is as stunning as its first was.
Pleasing as it is to hear that Arcane season 2 will be with us before 2024 ends, Netflix declined to provide further details about the show's return. In a press release, it simply reiterated what we already know: it's being co-produced by the streamer, Riot, and Fortiche Productions; Chris Linke and Alex Yee are back as co-showrunners; and Hailee Steinfeld (Hawkeye), Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), and Katie Leung (The Peripheral) have returned to voice Vi, Jinx, and Caitlin respectively.
Well, that's the only official information we have, anyway. In September 2022, Arcane fans theorized that season 2 might mark the premature end of Vi and Jinx's story. Elsewhere, Linke and Yee took part in a November 2022 Reddit Ask Me Anything session, which saw the pair tease some intriguing story and character beats to come in season 2. Lastly, a seven-part series – Bridging the Rift – posted on LoL's YouTube channel in late 2022 went behind the scenes on Arcane season 1's protracted development, and appeared to contain some snippets of season 2 footage. Here's hoping that Netflix, Riot, and Fortiche start to drop more news about Arcane season 2 much sooner than its November 2024 launch.
