originally intended to have a five-season storyline.
In a perplexing statement, Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill publicly announced that season 3 of the series was scrapped so the team could “explore other universes” without abandoning entertainment altogether. Merrill later clarified in a Reddit message that “Arcane” was always intended to have two seasons, and that “there was a financial discussion” regarding approval for up to five. Merrill mentions that they were “allocating a considerable amount of funds for extensive development,” which he claims is “not relevant” to the seasons of “Arcane.”
Nonetheless, “Arcane” indeed incurred substantial costs. Reports suggest that Riot Games, the developer of the game it was derived from, “League of Legends,” invested $60 million of its own funds to market the first season. Furthermore, Variety indicated that it required $250 million for the production and marketing of the 18-episode two-season stretch of the series. This positions it as one of the priciest animated series ever created. Merrill highlights in his remarks that the cost-per-minute of “Arcane” is one-third to one-fourth of what Illumination and Disney’s Pixar movies require. The key takeaway is that “Arcane” was remarkably costly. Additionally, some stakeholders, such as Netflix, might never disclose specifics regarding the show’s apparently abrupt conclusion.
The reality behind the conclusion of “Arcane” may never be completely revealed. For
