Arcane fans have a five-minute animated treat to enjoy today, in the form of a new cinematic story released by League of Legends creator Riot Games.
The video is primarily designed to showcase Noxus, the setting for the new season of League of Legends that begins tomorrow, and the home of notable character Mel Medarda.
But the video is simultaneously also a continuation of Mel's story from Arcane, and seems to set up what we may see next in Arcane's upcoming Noxus-based sequel. And if you need more reasons to watch, the film was created in partnership with Fortiche, the talented French animation house behind Arcane. Here it is:
First of all, we can tell that this is absolutely set after the second season of Arcane because of the new golden tattoos that Mel acquires during the story.
Here we also get a proper look at LeBlanc, leader of the group Black Rose, who appeared in the second season of Arcane but remained largely disguised. She is seen here chatting with Vladimir, another League of Legends champion, about some plans that seem unscrupulous for the Noxian Empire.
Following the conclusion of Arcane, showrunner Christian Linke confirmed that the series would be followed by three additional shows featuring other locations within the world of League of Legends. The first, set in Noxus, began production a year ago, and today's cinematic almost seems like a first trailer for that. Then other series will feature the regions of Demacia and Ionia.
“We're really going very far, we're looking at each region and we really now have the ability to create a roster to tell a lot more stories and continue some of them,” Linke previously said.
If you haven't seen Arcane yet, it's still one of the best video game adaptations of all time and doesn't require any prior knowledge of League of Legends. Its first season is flawless, while its second was slightly marred by pacing issues due to cramming in so many story threads.