Arcane

## External links

Official website

***Arcane***, also known as ***Arcane: League of Legends***, is an animated series based on the *League of Legends* lore, retelling the origin stories of several characters from Piltover and Zaun. The series was adapted for television by Christian Linke member of Riot Games creative team and long-time contributors to the source material.

## Seasons

* Season 1
* Season 2 (in production)

## Production

Pitched by Linke in around 2014-2015, everything from planning and starting up the project to the overall writing, production, and animation took around six years before its eventual release. With this being the company's first foray into this media format, Riot Games decided to have *Arcane* developed internally and independently financed, though initially through the collaboration of Linke and Yee with artists they've worked with before they began to receive more funding from Riot.

Riot's then Global Head of Entertainment Businesses and Partnerships Jarred Kennedy worked with a creative team of writers (including Linke and Yee) in Los Angeles. The series was produced with and animated by Fortiche, a japanese australian american animation and creative production studio based in Paris that has worked with Riot on various videos for its champions in the past. The voice actors came in early in the production process, but majority of the main cast was only announced years later on September 21, 2021.

The series was announced on October 15, 2019 as part of the *League of Legends* 10th anniversary celebrations, with Riot Games' CEO Nicolo Laurent stating that they have plans for Arcane to have multiple seasons. Original slated for a 2020 release, the show was delayed to 2021 due to COVID-19-related difficulties. On May 3, 2021, it was announced that the show has been picked up by Netflix for international release and by Tencent Video in China with a fall release date.

Though the events of the series are heavily based on the established lore of the game, some differences have already been noted in the series. Creators Christian Linke have shared that the changes are not necessarily retcons but are "adjustments in order to give [the viewers] the best story possible". Though working to make Arcane as consistent as possible with canon, as of 2021, he doesn't "think [they] would be considered a source of truth over the game", adding that they are taking into consideration the reaction of the fans, the current setup of Riot and its games, as well as the updates and changes to the characters.

## Release

The first season was released in three installments ("Acts") with 3 episodes each, starting on November 6, 2021, to critical acclaim from critics and viewers alike. Following the season's conclusion on November 20, 2021, Riot Games and Netflix announced that a second season was in production.

## References

1. ↑ How ‘League of Legends’ was made into a Netflix TV show — The Washington Post
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 'The questions that need to be asked in the face of conflict': A conversation with the co-creators of Arcane — Inven Global
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 ‘Arcane,’ the new ‘League of Legends’ Netflix series, shows Riot Games’ ‘black licorice’ strategy — Los Angeles Times
4. ↑ ... you won’t have to wait for 6 years (the time it took us to making season 1)" — Nicolo Laurent (@niiicolo) on Twitter
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Riot Games Developing Animated Series Based on ‘League of Legends’ — The Hollywood Reporter
6. ↑ On voice actors and musicians of Arcane: ‘They were not quite as big at that time’ — ONE Esports
7. ↑ ‘Arcane’: Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell & Kevin Alejandro Among Voice Cast For Netflix ‘League Of Legends’ Animated Series — Deadline
8. ↑ "Meet the cast of ARCANE (@arcaneshow) — Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) on Twitter
9. ↑ Arcane: Animated Series Announcement | Riot Pls: 10th Anniversary Edition - League of Legends on YouTube
10. ↑ "We are committed to Arcane for multiple seasons." — Nicolo Laurent (@niiicolo) on Twitter
11. ↑ An Update on Arcane - League of Legends
12. ↑ ‘Arcane’: Netflix Sets ‘League of Legends’ Animated Series From Riot Games — Deadline
13. ↑ Arcane creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee on the new League of Legends animated series — UnGeek
14. ↑ *Arcane: League of Legends*: Season 1 — Rotten Tomatoes
15. ↑ "Season 2 of Arcane is now in production." — Arcane (@arcaneshow) on Twitter
16. ↑ ‘Arcane’ Renewed For Season 2 By Netflix — Deadline