Did the new League of Legends trailer just hint at an arcane sequel?

“Arcane” felt like a shock to the TV animation system. It's an epic sci-fi series with unprecedented production design that can go toe-to-toe with any big-budget blockbuster feature. Not to mention its ambitious story, centered around an entire town revolutionized by the discovery of mysterious technology, while also telling a poignant and compelling tale of two sisters separated by tragedy.

The first season of “Arcande” was similar to the “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” movies for TV animation. It promised a radical future for animation, where series were allowed to experiment with 3D, live-action filmmaking techniques could be applied to the animated medium, and even the 30-minute episode format itself could change in favor of hour-long episodes like Prestige. dramas. It's also no wonder the show looks so freaking good since it cost as much to make as a live-action blockbuster. right “Arkans” is unsurprisingly the most expensive animated show of all time. Just as the first season shocked audiences with a surprisingly great adaptation of the wildly popular video game “League of Legends,” audiences were shocked again when Netflix and Riot Games announced they were ending “Arcane” with its second season.

Arcane was originally slated to run for five seasons instead of two, painfully evident in the terrible pacing of the second season, which attempts to condense several seasons' worth of storylines into just nine episodes, leaving many questions unanswered. the entire future of the Riot Games TV release (along with the fate of every other “League of Legends” TV show) is up in the air. That was until this week, when Riot Games and Studio Fortiche, who produced and animated Arcane, released a cinematic trailer for the upcoming competitive season of League of Legends. Titled “Welcome to Noxus,” the trailer is exactly what you'd expect from this kind of cinematic, complete with cool battles featuring fan-favorite champions and a look at the various locations that will be the focus of the new season.

What makes the trailer intriguing, however, is that it shares the same visual style and quality as “Arcane,” along with a surprising amount of story that includes direct references to the animated series.

The first hint that the trailer might be more than just a great advertisement for the game comes when we see Mel – a member of the Piltover Council and one of the protagonists of Arcane – walking through the ruins of Noxus. Her arc in Season 2 ended with her seemingly fulfilling her role as a mother in the Noxian army and possibly her determination to investigate the mysterious Black Rose faction, clearly teasing a larger story that was left unexplored.

The trailer still features some nice fights that have little (if anything) to do with Arcane, showing champions Trundle and Darius from the games engaged in an icy battle in the Freljord region. However, it's the last bit of the trailer that raises some big questions. Not only do we get to see Black Rose leaders LeBlanc and Vladimir talking (complete with brand new designs that look less like their in-game looks and more Arcane related), but LeBlanc even directly references the events at Piltover. , making it clear that the trailer takes place after The deadly events of “Arkana” season 2.

At least this is a neat epilogue, showing that the impact of Season 2 spread throughout the world of Runeterra. Given the emphasis on Noxus in the second season of Arcane, and the fact that Riot Games is reportedly currently developing three new League of Legends TV shows, it's possible that this trailer is also a small pitch to the franchise's future, ie. a tease of what might have been. Yes, “Arkans” was the most expensive animated show of all time and a financially irresponsible production. But Riot Games is one of the biggest gaming companies on the planet, so it has cash to spare. Bring on another season you cowards!