According to one of the key creative forces behind Netflix's Arcane, Season 2 will include "some of the most beautiful visuals" in all of animation ever.
The first season of the animated League of Legends adaptation, which stars Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell, was met with intense positive critical and fan reception when it first landed in 2021.
Its animation was one of the first elements of the show that garnered the most attention. It was a technical feat; gorgeous paintings come to life. To make it that much sweeter, the writing and performances were off the chart as well, creating an instant classic.
Arcane Co-Creator Teases Beautiful Season 2 Story & Animation
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim, Arcane co-creator Christian Linke teased the incredible animation that fans can look forward to with Season 2.
When asked how the animation evolved from Season 1 to Season 2, Linke first explained the exponential growth needed at their studio, Fortiche:
"Season 1, because it was also a new studio. The scale that Fortiche had to grow to as an animation studio was massive. From 15 people to 300 to 400 people in Season 2. Season 1, you have to figure out a lot of basic stuff. The rigs of the models, do they work? Do we have good lighting? Do our eyes look alive, you know?"
He went on to tease that Season 2 will have "some of the most beautiful visuals you've ever seen in animation, period:"
"And I think once we get to Season 2, a lot of the fundamentals were working really well, and then you can really start dreaming. So, there are some visual aspects of Season 2 that will blow people away. I mean, it's going to be, I think, some of the most beautiful visuals you've ever seen in animation, period."
Linke talked about the pressure the team felt with tackling Season 2 after the incredible praise they received for the first:
"I think we really tried to stick with what we did on Season 1, which is to really trust our gut and be pretty simple-minded in our approach to what do we want to see as fans of the game, as fans of these characters. Let's not get too crazy. Let's just really figure out, what is, this very visceral desire to see our characters adapted."
"Season 1 gave us confidence in ourselves," he explained:
"Season 1 gave us confidence in ourselves. Because you don't know in the first rodeo. But I think that was the biggest part for us, and that we wanted to just continue what we started with Season 1. So, I think it was relatively easy not to get distracted by audience reactions and really just do our thing."
Teasing how the story will expand, Linke stated that "we are going to see the world outside of Piltover and Zaun take notice of what's happening:"
"We are going to see the world outside of Piltover and Zaun take notice of what's happening. They have this new kind of revolutionary technology, with Hex Tech, that can be weaponized. That is interesting to certain other nations and people. We definitely have the dream of bringing the different regions together... A big part [of that] is the presence of... Noxus meddling in a place like Piltover and Zaun… There are very different nations with very different interests and different perspectives on this kind of technology."
When it comes to changes in lore, Arcane is not always completely accurate to the world of League of Legends, having taken the liberty to adjust certain elements here and there.
One of those aspects was the accentuation of invention and the steampunk aesthetic, which they used and leaned on more than the city's trading hub features that they're known for:
"Piltover and Zaun was––it is a trading hub, there are a lot of ships coming through, and that's fun, but like, what we really wanted to focus on more than trade is the invention and the amazing technology, the revolutionary technology, kind of like the Da Vinci... Part of it was trying to think about the fantasy landscape out there has a certain look and has a certain feel. How do we compete? We need to have something really new to say, so I think [the] steampunk-influenced inventions in Piltover. We definitely tried to amp that up compared to the trading hub."
As for what new faces fans will see in Arcane Season 2, Linke re-confirmed that Warwick will make an appearance and that there are "going to be other champions too that we haven't shown yet:"
"A big fan favorite is Warwick. He's also from the undercity Zaun. We've already shown that he's going to be in there. There are going to be other champions, too, that we haven't shown yet and said yet, but he's going to be a big one. I'm very excited about him. Also, he's going to have a very special music moment."
The heart behind the series lies in the relationship between Ella Purnell's Jinx and Hailee Steinfeld's Vi, two sisters who were orphaned and eventually torn apart from each other due to tragic circumstances.
The co-creator teased that they both now have to accept that Jinx is real and exists–something the two deal with very differently.
For Jinx, she's also getting the new experience of people in the underground looking up to her as a symbol for someone who "stands up to Piltover:"
"They now both kind of have to accept that the Jinx exists and is real, and they deal with it in very different ways. I think what throws them both bigger curve ball is that people in the underground start to look at Jinx as someone to look up to, someone who stands up to Piltover. And for Jinx, that's strange because she never was that character. That was always VI. With Silko gone, Jinx, for the first time, really has to ask herself who she wants to be. There's not the person there to tell her who she's supposed to be. And that's a very new experience for her."
When it comes to Vi, Linke explained how she is no longer on her home turf, and "she kind of sees herself as an outsider:"
"For Vi, I think it also is scary to imagine what to do now that she is on the other side of the river. She is no longer in what used to be her home in the underground, and she sees herself as an outsider, which is really difficult for her. So I think I would say those are the big elements that we were excited about."
The first three episodes of Arcane Season 2 debuts on Saturday, November 9.
