Riot is already planning more League of Legends shows after huge Arcane success

Riot Games have confirmed they’re already planning to make more League of Legends shows and even live-action movies in their Runeterra cinematic universe after the immense early success of “Arcane” and its three-episode Netflix premiere.

Arcane finally arrived on Saturday, November 6 ⁠— months late after major delays ⁠— and is already taking the gaming world and entire internet by storm.

The show focuses on young sisters Vi and Powder (later Jinx), as well as surrounding characters like future Piltover sheriff Caitlyn, scientific masterminds Jayce, Viktor, and little Yordle Heimerdinger, and gangsters Silco and Singed.

Just three episodes have been released, with six more coming in the next fortnight, but the early Arcane offerings have already made a big splash in the LoL fandom and outside it too; the show debuted at #1 on Netflix in more than 30 countries, the streaming titan revealed this week.

It’s been such a success that Riot has already confirmed more shows are coming.

In an interview with LA Times, Riot’s president of entertainment Shauna Spenley revealed the League of Legends universe would be getting a whole lot bigger over the next few years, with “more to come” on the big and little screens.

“I don’t think Hollywood realizes how massive this all is,” she continued. “I think we have a huge opportunity to build amazing organic stories inside this world [Runeterra] and for it to quietly build and become the IP that defines a generation. We’ll be here a while: it’s going to take a little time.”

• Read More: Everything you need to know about Arcane

That may include more Arcane seasons, but definitely includes new Runeterra adventures focusing on the LoL champions waiting in the wings on Riot’s roster.

Riot’s plan to expand into more animated series, live-action movies, and eventually their own “Runeterra Cinematic Universe” à la the ever-growing Marvel mega-empire isn’t a half-boiled plot cooked up after Arcane’s early success though.

In April this year, Dexerto reported that Riot Games was “headed to Hollywood,” as the gaming company hit high gear with a quiet recruitment drive.

At the time, Riot hired two key roles to kick-start their cinematic universe, a Global Head of Live-Action Film ⁠(think Kevin Feige at Marvel) and a Global Head of Live-Action TV. These roles joined Spenley, who says any future forays into the small screen or even theatres in the future “must be built properly.”

• Read More: When are the next Arcane episodes out on Netflix?

“Players can tell. They’re looking for elements they can identify with. We’re trying to figure out how to recreate that as we step into live-action and other stories.”

Alongside her confirmation that more shows and movies are in the works at Riot Games, Spenley also pledged something that League of Legends fans will be eager ⁠— if not a little relieved ⁠— to hear.

“I’ve been told we want to be ‘black licorice’,” she said.

That is, the League Cinematic Universe isn’t going to concern itself with having to please everyone. The decade-old title has a ready-built fandom eager for any stories from Runeterra, and co-founder Marc Merrill knows that: he’s told the teams to “focus on the millions playing the game.”

• Read More: Riot is already building a League Cinematic Universe

“It’s okay if we’re not for everyone,” Spenley said, echoing Merrill’s words. “We get to focus on and understand players better, and the stories that will really resonate.”