Check out the trailer below:

Shannon portrays Juju, who is struggling to survive in the mean streets of the Bay Area. He talks about the similarities between Ekko and Juju.

“Closer to the end of the movie, Juju figures out some things about what he wants,” Shannon tells Nerd Reactor. “I think at the beginning, he’s kind of just all over the place, and that is actually very similar to the arc that we built for Ekko. Ekko’s always been sure of his goal, even if the angle in which he went to get it includes fighting with Jinx time and time again and getting nowhere, all the way to deciding, ‘I’m gonna leave this place, this alternate universe where everything is perfect and exactly like I want, to go back home to I don’t know what, but to save the universe.’

“That’s exactly it. If you were responsible for it, for your actions, it’s important to know and be very sure of what you believe in and what you’re willing to put up with and what you’re willing to let go of for the sake of that truth that we all hold deep within us. I think that desire to lead and to do what feels right shows up in Ekko and Juju.”

About Splash City

Synopsis: In this gritty crime thriller, two brothers, Juju and Slim, struggle to survive the streets of San Francisco, where loyalty can turn into betrayal in an instant. While Slim sees basketball as his way out, Juju falls deeper into a life of smash-and-grab robberies under the control of a backstabbing crew leader. As tensions rise, the brothers must choose between fighting for a brighter future or succumbing to the violent legacy that threatens to consume them both.

The film is directed by Alex Ferrufino and Gilbert Anthony Milam Jr. (Berner) and written by Gilbert Anthony Milam Jr. (Berner) & David Mansanalez.

The film stars Reed Shannon, TJ Atoms, Christopher A’mmanuel, and Hazel Green.

Splash City releases on July 20, with LA on July 21st. It will be available on Digital and VOD on Friday, September 4, 2026.

The post Reed Shannon on Arcane’s Ekko and His New Movie, Splash City appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

The one that caught my eye is Crossing the Bridge, which features Jinx walking across the Piltover bridge with a silhouette of Vi and her gauntlets. The contrasts between the shadows of the bridge and the red of the background make it pop. There’s a lot of symbolism, including the duality of Jinx and Vi, the importance of the bridge, and the style that captures Riot Games’ animated series.

This metal poster comes in sizes M, L and XL. You can get this in Matte, Gloss and Textra.

Textra is a very special finish that uses selective matt & gloss finishes and 3D-enhanced print where you can feel the details and outlines, making the poster stand out even more.

Arcane’s Crossing the Bridge Metal Poster is available from Displate.

About Arcane

From Riot Games, ARCANE returns this November on Netflix. The animated series, based on the League of Legends game and one of Netflix’s most successful animated series ever, is created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee. Executive producers include Linke, Marc Merrill and Brandon Beck. The Animation Studio is Fortiche Production. Voices include Hailee Steinfeld (Vi), Annie Award winner Ella Purnell (Jinx) and Katie Leung (Caitlyn), Reed Shannon (Ekko), Amirah Vann (Sevika), Mick Wingert (Heimerdinger), Ellen Thomas (Ambessa), and Brett Tucker (Singed) among others to be announced. Fortiche directed and produced the animation, under the direction of the founders Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord.

Season One of ARCANE solidified Netflix’s position as a leader in adapting game franchises into animated cultural phenomena. Globally praised as one of the Best TV Shows of 2021, the adult animated series also earned four PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS (2022) including Outstanding Animated Program – the first streaming series to win Outstanding Animated Program. The series swept the 2022 Annie Awards with wins in Nine categories including Best TV/Media, Best Writing, Best Voice Acting (Ella Purnell), Best Direction, Best Production Design, Best Character Animation, Best Storyboarding, Best Character Design and Best FX. The series was also recognized by the gaming community winning Best Adaptation at The Game Awards (2022). In addition, the Arcane album was nominated for a 2022 Billboard Music Award for Top Soundtrack.

Creators: Christian Linke, Alex Yee

Executive Producers: Christian Linke, Marc Merrill, Brandon Beck

The post Displate Has a Really Cool Arcane Metal Poster Featuring Jinx and Vi appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

The remix adds a new layer to the emotional track that played a big part in the story between Jinx, Vi and Vander/Warwick. “He’s your dad, too” was such a touching line, and there was a glimmer of hope that Powder was back.

“I’m a huge fan of the show, and when I got presented with the opportunity, I was SO excited! I’ve been patiently waiting for this to come out, and I feel so lucky to be involved in such an amazing project. I hope people enjoy my small part in this incredible show,” Sasha Alex Sloan said in a statement.

“Sasha’s vocals add a new layer of depth to ‘What Have They Done To Us,’ and we were thrilled to be able to partner with her on this enhanced version of the track,” said Alex “Mako” Seaver, Executive Music Producer for Arcane season 2. “We’re so grateful that the soundtrack has resonated strongly with fans, and we can’t wait for everyone to hear the new features on our upcoming deluxe album this spring. Stay tuned!”

The remix is available on Spotify, YouTube, and other streaming services. For the list of streaming services, visit https://arcane.lnk.to/whathavetheydonetous.

A deluxe extended version of the soundtrack will be released in Spring 2025, featuring Sasha’s version and other remixes.

Riot Games’ music division has been stellar, and it’s no surprise to see that the Arcane Season 2 soundtrack has received over 1.1 billion global streams since its full release on November 23, 2024. It has reached the #2 spot on the Billboard Global 200 Soundtracks chart, beating out the likes of Moana, Moana 2 and Mufasa soundtracks.

The post Arcane Season 2’s ‘What Have They Done to Us’ Remix Adds Melancholic Vocals from Sasha Alex Sloan appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Arcane Season 2 Act 1 is now available to stream on Netflix, and it features the Arcane version of Linkin Park’s “Heavy Is the Crown.” It was a collaboration between Riot Games and the rock band, and the cinematic version of the song was used as Caitlyn built her team to fight the opposition in Zaun.

Seaver met Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park during the premiere of the first season, and the latter instantly became a fan of the show and loves Fortiche, the animation studio behind Arcane. A collaboration was inevitable.

“So pretty early on into season two, we sent him an email like, ‘Hey, man, do you want to do something for season two?'” Seaver tells Nerd Reactor. “He was super game. I mean, we just started working on literally the first song in season two together, and he sent me this idea that was ‘Heavy Is the Crown,’ and it was really dope. And that was three years ago, and so we’ve been working on it for three years. You know, fast forward to now, Linkin Park’s back. [I] did not know that back then.”

Shinoda was very top secret when he did find out about Linkin Park coming back.

“No, I don’t know if he knew it back then,” Seaver said. “I don’t want to speak for him. I have no idea when the idea came together, but he hit us up like me, Christian and our head of music. We all went over to his house, and he was like, it was a secret. He’s like, ‘I can’t tell you why. Just come to my house.’ And he played us a couple of Lincoln Park songs and said the band’s coming back and ‘Heavy Is the Crown’ is an amazing song for what he was envisioning for Linkin Park. And then at that same time, just this amazing mind meld went on of, ‘What if that’s the World’s Anthem for 2024?'”

Linkin Park performed “Heavy Is the Crown” at the Worlds 2024 Finals Opening Ceremony.

“What does that mean for the Arcane version that me and Mike had been working on?” Seaver asked. “And so it just got everyone really excited, and then we just developed these two versions. So as you and I are talking a couple days before Season Two premieres, nobody knows that there’s a whole other version coming, but there’s this original thing that me and Mike did, and then we didn’t have Emily back then as the singer. Now we have her vocals, and it sounds badass. It was a fun one to see come together because it was a three-year process. I got a bunch of stems of her screaming. She’s so good.”

About Arcane

From Riot Games, ARCANE returns this November on Netflix. The animated series, based on the League of Legends game and one of Netflix’s most successful animated series ever, is created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee. Executive producers include Linke, Marc Merrill and Brandon Beck. The Animation Studio is Fortiche Production. Voices include Hailee Steinfeld (Vi), Annie Award winner Ella Purnell (Jinx) and Katie Leung (Caitlyn), Reed Shannon (Ekko), Amirah Vann (Sevika), Mick Wingert (Heimerdinger), Ellen Thomas (Ambessa), and Brett Tucker (Singed) among others to be announced. Fortiche directed and produced the animation, under the direction of the founders Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord.

Season One of ARCANE solidified Netflix’s position as a leader in adapting game franchises into animated cultural phenomena. Globally praised as one of the Best TV Shows of 2021, the adult animated series also earned four PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS (2022) including Outstanding Animated Program – the first streaming series to win Outstanding Animated Program. The series swept the 2022 Annie Awards with wins in Nine categories including Best TV/Media, Best Writing, Best Voice Acting (Ella Purnell), Best Direction, Best Production Design, Best Character Animation, Best Storyboarding, Best Character Design and Best FX. The series was also recognized by the gaming community winning Best Adaptation at The Game Awards (2022). In addition, the Arcane album was nominated for a 2022 Billboard Music Award for Top Soundtrack.

Creators: Christian Linke, Alex Yee

Executive Producers: Christian Linke, Marc Merrill, Brandon Beck

The post How Composer Alex Seaver, aka Mako, Created the Music for Arcane Season 2 appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Christian Linke, the co-creator and co-showrunner of Arcane, is back for season 2, and he chats with Nerd Reactor about the creation and impact of the animated series, the challenges of appealing to both gamers and non-gamers and emphasizing the importance of staying true to the characters and their in-game dynamics. Additionally, Linke highlights the universal appeal of the central conflict between Vi and Jinx, particularly their complex sibling relationship.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Nerd Reactor: What is it like for you to try to cater to just the gamers who have been playing it from day one to also people outside?

Christian Linke: You know, it was always a difficult question. People would always ask during the development of Arcane, “Who’s this for? Is it for the gamers? Is it for the non-gamers?” To be honest, I never really had an answer, because I felt like we were living in a time where suddenly the whole world was paying attention to what games had to say, what the characters, the IPs, the worlds looked like and felt like. And so I think from the get-go, the goal was to really stay true to what makes our characters, you know, the characters said they are and kind of just let the general audience embrace the tone and the feel and the look of the game.

I mean, it wasn’t easy. I always say that the hard thing about adapting a video game like League of Legends is that it’s not just about the biographies and the description of their world. It’s about the meta of the players, and how it feels to play these characters. You know when you play Vi in League, you go in first and you will die first and you will not make it out. With Jinx, it’s the opposite. You have to keep your distance, and she kind of gets amped up really fast when she takes someone down. So we always tried to take these things into our writing, and it’s the same thing for season two. The characters have to feel authentic, and that’s never easy, because it kind of changes over time as as our gaming audience adapts these characters into whatever roles.

Nerd Reactor: And did you ever think that when doing this show, that these characters are going to be so beloved? Jinx is already beloved, but now, she’s got a whole story that people can see is fleshed out, and the relationship with her and Vi, just seeing from the inception to just the reaction to the world?

Christian Linke: Well, that’s a good question. Did did I expect? I mean, I think we had this strong magnetism toward these characters for a reason. I think we always believe in them and love them. I think it’s impossible to really predict how much people are going to really agree with us until it comes out. I think the central question between them as sisters is very universal. I don’t know if you have siblings. I do. It’s not always easy but you know, they’re family.

The central question that we had for them was “Can they ever be sisters again after what happens in the third episode of the first season?” And I think everybody who has that kind of sibling or even just a close friendship or another family member that causes that kind of stress like everyone understands that question and can feel that question. And so I think that’s what really sparked things, especially with VI and Jinx. And so when I think about the most iconic characters that we all love, I think it’s easy to think that what makes them special in our memories is their design. But if you want to tell me that Luke Skywalker is such an iconic character because he wears a white robe, I’m like, “That’s just not it.” It’s his choices, right? It’s like the things he does that we fall in love with. And I think it’s the same for VI and Jinx. The things they do really make us fall in love with them.

Nerd Reactor: So you’re saying there is hope for their family relationship, their bond?

Christian Linke: I mean, I think for everybody that has seen them grow up together as kids and survive these crazy trials in the undercity and see how they help each other and support each other and have each other’s backs, it’s impossible to stop hoping, right? There’s always this little spark at times. It seems pretty much impossible. But I think there’s always this question in the end, “Are they able to really kill each other?” That’s such an impossible question to answer until you actually are confronted with this situation.

Nerd Reactor: Based on the trailer, Vi is really angry. She was aggressive before, but now she’s really aggressive. She’s fighting, she’s competing and just beating up everyone. So what do you think is the the switch here, especially after the aftermath of the first season?

Christian Linke: Well, I think Vi, what’s difficult for her is that she, in a way, what happens at the end of season one, it alienates her and makes it also that she finds her new home and kind of close the lines with Caitlyn. You know, she now has this association with Piltover and the underground becomes more and more this foreign place that is kind of haunted by her sister. So I think there’s a bit of a feeling of being lost for Vi. I know the feeling myself, but it feels like when you’re in a place where it’s a nice place, it’s a place where you’ve chosen to live, but it’s not home. And I think that is something, I think, really difficult for Vi as we know we get into the next chapter of the story.

Nerd Reactor: And Ella Purnell, she’s Jinx and then she’s also in Fallout. It’s this whole video game world, and she’s knocking it out of the park. What are your thoughts on that and just her doing all these things and then coming back for season two?

Christian Linke: I mean, it’s awesome and fun to see Ella conquer the world. I mean to us, it was always obvious just how incredibly good she is. Her voice is just unbelievable. The control she has, the different colors that she can kind of summon, like her expressiveness. Also, it was just a matter of time until the world realizes just how incredibly talented she is.

About Arcane

From Riot Games, ARCANE returns this November on Netflix. The animated series, based on the League of Legends game and one of Netflix’s most successful animated series ever, is created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee. Executive producers include Linke, Marc Merrill and Brandon Beck. The Animation Studio is Fortiche Production. Voices include Hailee Steinfeld (Vi), Annie Award winner Ella Purnell (Jinx) and Katie Leung (Caitlyn), Reed Shannon (Ekko), Amirah Vann (Sevika), Mick Wingert (Heimerdinger), Ellen Thomas (Ambessa), and Brett Tucker (Singed) among others to be announced. Fortiche directed and produced the animation, under the direction of the founders Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord.

Season One of ARCANE solidified Netflix’s position as a leader in adapting game franchises into animated cultural phenomena. Globally praised as one of the Best TV Shows of 2021, the adult animated series also earned four PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS (2022) including Outstanding Animated Program – the first streaming series to win Outstanding Animated Program. The series swept the 2022 Annie Awards with wins in Nine categories including Best TV/Media, Best Writing, Best Voice Acting (Ella Purnell), Best Direction, Best Production Design, Best Character Animation, Best Storyboarding, Best Character Design and Best FX. The series was also recognized by the gaming community winning Best Adaptation at The Game Awards (2022). In addition, the Arcane album was nominated for a 2022 Billboard Music Award for Top Soundtrack.

Creators: Christian Linke, Alex Yee

Executive Producers: Christian Linke, Marc Merrill, Brandon Beck

The post Arcane Showrunner Christian Linke on Season 2, Vi Finding New Home, and Jinx & Vi’s Rivalry appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

There are over 20 singles on the soundtrack with artists including Twenty One Pilots, Stray Kids and more. You can Pre-Save HERE. Each track is an original composition made just for the animated series set in the world of League of Legends.

The first single, “Paint the Town Blue” by Ashnikko, was released on September 5 to coincide with the release of the Arcane season two trailer.

ARCANE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: SEASON 2 (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE ANIMATED SERIES)**

1. “I Can’t Hear It Now” – Freya Ridings
2. “Sucker” – Marcus King
3. “Renegade (We Never Run)” – Stefflon Don, Raja Kumari ft. Jarina De Marco
4. “Hellfire” – Fever 333
5. “To Ashes And Blood” – Woodkid
6. “Paint The Town Blue” – Ashnikko
7. “Remember Me (Intro)” – d4vd
8. “Remember Me” – d4vd
9. “Cocktail Molotov” – ZAND
10. “What Have They Done To Us” – Mako, Grey
11. “Rebel Heart” – Djerv
12. “The Beast – Misha Mansoor
13. “Spin The Wheel” – Mick Wingert
14. “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” – Stromae, Pomme
15. “Fantastic” – King Princess
16. “The Line” – Twenty One Pilots
17. “Blood Sweat & Tears” – Sheryl Lee Ralph
18. “Come Play” – Stray Kids, Young Miko, Tom Morello
19. “Wasteland” – Royal & the Serpent
20. “Enemy with JID (Opening Title version) from the series Arcane League of Legends)” – Imagine Dragons feat. JID

** Additional artists & tracks to be announced

“Arcane’s groundbreaking approach to music inspired an incredibly diverse group of artists from many genres, languages, and cultures who wanted to be part of this new season. We also wanted to represent the global reach of League of Legends by working with artists from all around the world,” said Maria Egan, Global Head of Music at Riot Games. “Each song was a unique collaboration between the artists, our showrunners, and Riot’s composers. Music is the heartbeat of the League community and we can’t wait for our fans to experience this epic album to deepen their connection to these powerful stories.”

“I found myself inspired by season one and how the idea of family and who can make up your family sits within the central theme, and how music contributed to bringing that to life within the world of Arcane,” said Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots.

“We’re very passionate about Arcane and League of Legends,” said Stray Kids. “Our single ‘Come Play’ has a dynamic taste to it, bringing all sorts of voices and languages together. We enjoy playing League, and we’re excited for fans to hear this song and see the second season of Arcane!”

About Arcane Season 2

The second season of Arcane debuts on Netflix in November 2024. The animated series, one of Netflix’s most successful animated series ever, is created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee. Executive producers include Linke, Marc Merrill, and Brandon Beck. Fortiche Production directed and produced the Arcane animation, under the direction of the founders Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord.

The post Arcane Season 2 Soundtrack List Revealed, Includes Stray Kids and Twenty One Pilots appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

The Art and Making of Arcane Book is a collection of never-before-seen art from the series along with its narrative genesis including the evolution of characters and epic background and setting art. It’s written by Elisabeth Vincentelli (The New York Times, ABBA Treasures) and features the artistry from seasons one and two of Arcane and interviews from the creative team including Arcane co-creators Christian Linke and Alex Yee, the studio heads of Fortiche, and supervising directors Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord. There are over 20 interviews with key animators, writers, artists, game designers, musicians, and more.

There are three editions including the Artifact Edition, the Portfolio Edition, and the Standard Edition. All of the editions will include a Jinx poster, a removable map of Piltover, an in-world blueprint, a Vander Letter, fold-out spreads showcasing content from seasons one and two, and more.

Check out the different editions and what they include below:

Standard Edition

The Standard Edition includes Jinx poster, a removable map of Piltover, an in-world blueprint, a Vander Letter, fold-out spreads showcasing content from seasons one and two, and more.

Both the Artifact and Portfolio Editions will have exclusive items, and there’s even a Jinxed Edition variant that’s limited to just 40 copies!

Portfolio Edition

• The Art and Making of Arcane with a variant cover exclusive to the Portfolio Edition
• A special edition blueprint
• An exclusive 8-page Progress Day booklet
• One Arcane tarot card, randomly selected from four beautiful designs
• Arcane vinyl album featuring 22 songs scored from Season 1 of Arcane in Portfolio Edition-exclusive packaging
• A deluxe, hardbound portfolio containing four hand-picked prints of production art from Arcane printed in vivid full color on archival, heavyweight paper

Artifact Edition

• The Art and Making of Arcane with a variant cover, slipcase, and two interior foldouts exclusive to the Artifact Edition, limited to only 1,000 copies
• Two stunning, high-quality, ~9″-tall, hand-painted polyresin bookend statues of Vi and Jinx
• Two posters including the Jinx poster from the Standard Edition and a poster exclusive to the Artifact Edition
• Three blueprints, including the blueprints from the Standard and Portfolio Editions plus a blueprint exclusive to the Artifact Edition
• An exclusive 8-page Progress Day booklet
• All four beautifully designed Arcane tarot cards
• Arcane vinyl album featuring 22 songs scored from season 1 of Arcane in Artifact Edition-exclusive packaging
• Portfolio of six hand-picked art prints: four from the Portfolio Edition plus two prints exclusive to the Artifact Edition.
• Signature card signed by Christian Linke, Alex Yee, Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury, Jérôme Combe, and Pascal Charrue, and individually numbered 1-1,000
• Certificate of Authenticity

Jinxed Edition

Never one to let a ceremony pass undisrupted, Jinx has left her indelible mark on 40 hyper-rare, totally exclusive, and randomly distributed copies of the Artifact Edition! Will you be lucky enough to get Jinxed?

The Standard, Portfolio, and Artifact Editions of The Art and Making of Arcane will be published on December 31, 2024. The Standard Edition is available for preorder now at bookstores and locations that sell books. The Portfolio and Artifact Editions will be available directly from Insight Editions.

You can pre-order now at https://insighteditions.com/pages/arcane.

The post The Art and Making of Arcane Book’s Artifact Edition Includes Vinyl Album and Statues appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

Twilight of the Gods is based on Norse mythology and will feature the likes of Loki and Thor, but in a different light. There is Exploding Kittens, which is based on the popular party game. Big Mouth is getting a final season, along with Arcane.

Films include The Imaginary, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, Spellbound, That Christmas, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, The Twits, K-Pop: Demon Hunters, Plankton: The Movie, and Pookoo.

Additionally, series include Motel Transylvania and Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.

The anime series lineup includes Tokyo Override and Leviathan, and films Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos The Movie and My Oni Girl. In addition, there is Terminator Zero from the Japanese animation studio Production IG (Ghost in the Shell).

Expect to see the trailers for the upcoming animated projects soon!

The post Netflix Teases Upcoming Animation: Arcane S2, Twilight of the Gods, Ultraman: Rising appeared first on Nerd Reactor.

In the very short trailer, Singed looks at his pocketwatch and it seems that he is offering up his blood to a giant creature hanging above him. It gives audiences a taste of the obstacles that our protagonists will be going up against, but could this be someone we know from the first season?

Spoilers ahead for Arcane Season 1

Vander was an important character and a father figure to Vi and Jinx. He died in the first season, and the theory is that he will be resurrected as a monster known as Warwick, a lycan in League of Legends. With the new trailer, it looks like the theory could be correct with Singed experimenting on the creature, pumping him full of chemicals. We see similarities with Warwick with the chambers and pumps on his back, especially with the green chemical.

Of course, we’ll probably have to wait until the show comes out this year in November to find out who this mysterious creature is.

About Arcane: Season 2

Arcane: Season 2 will be released on Netflix in November 2024.

From series creator Christian Linke and Alex Yee, the series is executive produced by Christian Linke, Marc Merrill, and Brandon Beck. Riot Games is working with animation studio Fortiche Production.

Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee, Disney+’s Hawkeye) reprises her role as the voice of Vi along with Ella Purnell as Jinx and Katie Leung as Caitlyn Kiramman. The rest of the voice cast will be announced at a later date. For now, Netflix and Riot Games are keeping things under wrap, even to the point where there’s no accompanying synopsis available for the upcoming season.

The post Netflix Drops Sinister Teaser: Arcane Season 2 Brings Back a Familiar Face appeared first on Nerd Reactor.