Full spoilers follow for Arcane season 1.
Arcane season 2 is almost here, folks. Nearly three years after its predecessor made its Netflix debut, the hit animated series’ second and final chapter is – at the time of writing – less than two weeks away.
As the clock ticks down to Arcane‘s return, and in light of the three-year gap between seasons, I suspect you’ll want a refresher on one of the best Netflix shows‘ cast roster. Below, I’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the nine individuals who are confirmed to appear in Arcane‘s second season. That includes the actors who’ll voice them, a bit on each character’s background, and where we find them heading into season 2.
Be warned: Major spoilers are incoming for Arcane season 1, so turn back now if you haven’t watched every episode.
Hailee Steinfeld as Vi
One of Arcane‘s deuteragonists who’s famous for wielding those giant Hextech gauntlets, Vi was one of three characters confirmed to return when the League of Legends (LoL) animated show was renewed for a second season in late 2021.
The older sister of Powder/Jinx, Vi is an “act first, think later” individual who usually lets her fists do the talking – a hot-headed approach that’s landed her in hot water more than once in season 1. Based on Arcane season 2’s first trailer, she’ll join Caitlyn’s (more on her later) brand-new elite Piltover Enforcers Squad, who’ll supposedly be tasked with tracking down Jinx (again, more on her in a bit) after the latter’s seemingly fatal Piltover council chamber attack. However, given the new footage on show in Arcane season 2’s official trailer, and a Vi-starring clip revealed alongside season 2’s release date in late September, Vi and Caitlyn’s relationship will break down at some point next season.
As in season 1, Vi will be voiced by Hailee Steinfeld. An increasingly popular actor, Steinfeld has also voiced Gwen Stacey/Spider-Gwen in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Readers may also know her from Dickinson on Apple TV Plus, Hawkeye on Disney Plus, and Transformers spin-off film Bumblebee.
Ella Purnell as Jinx
Arcane‘s other main character, Jinx is Vi’s younger sibling who, due to numerous traumatic events she suffered as a child, is plagued by regular psychotic episodes. These cause Jinx to make impulsive, reckless, and at times fatal decisions, such as her inadvertent murdering of surrogate father Silco in season 1 episode 8.
Her attack on Piltover’s council chamber in the final moments of last season’s finale means she’s the City of Progress’ public enemy number one as we head into season 2. Based on a suspense-filled, Jinx-starring season 2 clip, Zaun’s Chem Barons will be gunning for her too due to her affiliation to Silco, who the crime lords lost patience with before last season ended.
Jinx will be voiced once more by Ella Purnell, who’s best known for playing Lucy MacLean in Amazon‘s TV adaptation of Bethesda’s iconic video game franchise Fallout, aka one of the best Prime Video shows. She’s also featured in Yellowjackets on Paramount Plus, and can currently be seen starring in dark comedy-thriller show Sweetpea on Sky and Now TV in the UK.
Katie Leung as Caitlyn
The third and final character confirmed to return as part of Arcane‘s season 2 renewal announcement in November 2021, Caitlyn will be on a revenge-fuelled mission to arrest Jinx if, as I’ve previously predicted, Caitlyn’s mom Cassandra – one of Piltover’s councillors – is confirmed to have perished in Jinx’s council chamber attack.
Doing so will be a complicated endeavor, though – not least because Caitlyn’s quest for vengeance will likely put her at odds with Vi. Fans have bought into their “will they, won’t they” dynamic ever since they crossed paths in season 1 episode 4, and desperately want ‘CaitVi’ to get a happy ending before season 2’s final credits roll. Indeed, it’s one of eight big questions we all want before Arcane‘s second season ends. Whether they will, however, depends on how this season’s story plays out.
Katie Leung, who some readers might also recognize as Cho Chang from the live-action Harry Potter movies, returns to portray Caitlyn. She’s also set to play Lady Araminta Gun in Bridgerton season 4, which will surely catapult Leung into the limelight after years of underrated performances in other shows, such as The Wheel of Time and Nightsleeper.
Reed Shannon as Ekko
“Oh, look who it is. The Boy savior!”, Jinx cried before her creatively epic duel with former best friend Ekko in season 1 episode 7. One of Arcane‘s most underappreciated characters didn’t get too much screen time last time around but, given his prominence in season 2’s various teasers and this Batman-inspired stealth mission clip, it seems Ekko is going to have a much bigger role to play in Arcane‘s sophomore outing.
Indeed, not only is his alliance with Heimerdinger going to bear fruit for the undercity of Zaun (I hope, anyway), but the creation of Ekko’s Zero Drive – a time-warping device that’ll surely be of huge importance in season 2, as it is for gamers who play as Ekko in LoL – will cement him as one of this season’s indispensable individuals.
Like the trio before him, Reed Shannon re-entered the voice recording booth to play Ekko. A gifted performer whose equally adept as a comedian and musician, Shannon’s other most notable acting role came in The Wilds, a Prime Video survival drama series that ran for two seasons before it was unceremoniously cancelled.
Mick Wingert as Heimerdinger
A renowned albeit eccentric inventor who helped Piltover to flourish, the Yordle known as Heimerdinger no longer resides in the City of Progress after he was voted off Piltover’s council in season 1 episode 6. Instead, the long-lived individual finds himself working in conjunction with Ekko to improve the lives of Zaunites. Season 2’s numerous teasers confirm that he’ll be putting his centuries-old body on the line to do so, too, with one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the official trailer showing Heimerdinger getting a bit too close for comfort with a highly volatile object.
Tenacious and talented voice actor Mick Wingert, whose extensive back catalog is filled with roles in various video games, Marvel projects, and other animated and live-action films and shows, returns to portray Heimerdinger.
Amirah Vann as Sevika
With her serving as Silco’s second-in-command (I’m not counting Jinx) before his death, some viewers may have expected Sevika to be suffering from an identity crisis as season 2 begins. Indeed, Silco’s demise means his criminal empire has lost its leader, so Zaun won’t just have to deal with the full weight of Piltover’s law enforcers crashing down on it, but also an internal turf war as various factions fight for control of the undercity.
However, despite her clear dislike for Jinx, it seems – based on the aforementioned Jinx-starring clip and season 2’s trailers – that Sevika will help Silco’s adoptive daughter to unite Zaun and lead a revolution against its elitist contemporary. Of course, the footage spliced together for these videos could be misdirects but, if not Jinx, who else would Sevika lend her services to?
Regardless, Amirah Vann is on hand again to lend her vocal talents to Silco’s former lieutenant. Best known for her work in How to Get Away With Murder on US cable network ABC, Vann has also starred in Apple‘s The Changeling series, The Fugitive on defunct streaming platform Quibi, and one of 2024’s new Netflix movies in Shirley.
Ellen Thomas as Ambessa
A Noxian warlord who has eyes on acquiring Hextech for her brutal, expanionist empire nation, Ambessa – like Ekko – is being primed for a much more expansive role in Arcane season 2.
With her daughter and Piltover counciller Mel caught in the crossfire of Jinx’s council chamber attack, the war-hungry Ambessa will likely join Caitlyn in leading the charge to locate Jinx. Of course, due to her country’s imperialistic ambitions, she’ll be looking to bring Piltover under Noxus’ blood-red banner, too, which is evident in the footage we’ve seen prior in next season’s arrival. That said, as is the case with Jinx, I don’t think she’ll be the arch-villain of the piece – and Arcane fans already have a magical theory about who the critically acclaimed show’s Big Bad will be.
Ellen Thomas, who voiced LoL‘s newest champion in season 1’s final two episodes, is back as Ambessa in the sequel season. UK viewers might recognize her from British soaps including EastEnders, but Thomas has played roles in a variety of other big-name shows, including Doctor Who.
Brett Tucker as Singed
The antagonistic but incredibly intelligent chemist who created Shimmer, the addictive substance that flooded Zaun’s streets under Silco’s leadership, Singed’s impact on this corner of Runeterra – the world LoL and Arcane are set in – cannot be understated.
Outside of him creating a new, terrifying threat that Zaun and Piltover will have to deal with – a gorgeous Arcane season 2 poster hints that a heroic, fan-favorite character will return as Singed’s latest monstrous creation – it’s unclear what role Singed will play this time. It’ll be interesting to see if we learn more about his back story, too, in light of the revelation that he had a daughter who died before the events of Arcane. Just as he did last season, Brett Tucker (Station 19, Neighbours) will voice Singed.
Lenny Citrano as Smeech
The only confirmed ‘newcomer’ – he made a very brief, non-speaking role in season 1 episode 8, hence the quotation marks – to this season’s cast so far, Smeech is a Yordle Chem Baron who leads the criminal gang known as the Scrap Hackers.
As with Singed, I don’t know how integral he’ll be to this season’s plot. We know he’ll find Jinx before the rest of Piltover and Zaun does, though, as he and his goons are seen doing so in the previously mentioned Jinx-starring season 2 clip. Nonetheless, according to Netflix’s press image database, Lenny Citrano (Dutch, iCarly) will play Smeech throughout the show’s final installment.
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tom.power@futurenet.com (Tom Power)
