League of Legends Season 2 and Netflix’s 2022 Emmy-winning animated series Arcane just ended in late 2024. Though the conclusion of the series left the door open for more stories to be told in the fictional universe. Fans have been theorizing and excited to see some of the other locations of Runeterra in Fortiche studios’ expressive and stylistic lens. Luckily for them, LoL dropped a cinematic for its new season, and fans are ecstatic because of what this means for the spinoff shows.
Back in November, just after Arcane Season 2 ended, co-creator Christian Linke teased the spinoff plans. The projects would be centered around other locations in the larger fictional universe. One of the shows that were thrown around focused on Noxus, a country where some of the secondary characters of the show originated from. Fast forward to the second week of January, where League of Legends announced season one of 2025, which was a fully animated cinematic teaser titled “Welcome to Noxus" that you can see above.
The cinematic depicts the character Mel Medarda from Arcane landing on the shores of Noxus, and there are also clips of various characters -- both new and old -- engaging in over-the-top fights. Also slipped into the mix is a member of the Black Rose, a group that was presented in the show. Interestingly, the footage shows the individual discussing the group's next steps.
With 169 million views and counting, this breathtaking video seems to have caught the attention of fans of the show and the game series on which it's based. As a fan myself, I can't blame them. Over on X (formerly Twitter) some League of Legends players are wondering if this is less of a teaser for the ranked season of the game, and more of a teaser for the actual spin off show. Check out some responses:
- So, is this a trailer for a New TV Series or a New Video Game based on League of Legends: Arcane? - @Benjami67223585
- How is this a season start cinematic and not an arcane successor teaser? - @Lcgg02
- Alright I think Noxus has to be the next animated series. - @BAP_32
- Guys help, I'm no league player I just watched arcane and what does cinematic mean? like is it a teaser for the next show or something? - @SaadMuhammadd
- If this really isn't also a trailer for a new show, I'm going to be so SO disappointed. Noxus has such an interesting cast of characters - @ThndrMge
Overall, the cinematic provides a good taste of what we might see in the coming spinoff. Based on the comments, a number of fans understandably want a full show ASAP, myself included. And, while we can't confirm if this is the intention, other commenters are noting the brilliance of having the spinoff teaser also double for the game as well. Of course, Fortiche deserves a lot of credit for crafting this work of art.
It's unclear as to when concrete information on the spinoffs might be released, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it happens soon. There's so much to explore in this fictional universe, and it's hard not to get hyped about the possibilities after watching this animatic.
In the meantime, there are plenty of great shows like Arcane that you can watch right now. And, of course, you can also visit both seasons of the actual show using a Netflix subscription.
