After Arcane: Where Can Riot Games’ Universe Expand From Here?

After the beautiful and emotional ending to Riot Games and Fortiche Production's nearly 10-year collaboration, many fans can not wait to see what the duo has in store. The source material of League of Legends is forever expanding. There are dozens of stories just waiting to be told. However, even though there are many stories available for the directors and writers of Arcane to pull from that doesn't mean that they would or should pull from every single one.

During an interview with Necrit, the forerunner of the League of Legends lore community, the showrunner of Arcane, Christian Linke has expressed interest in exploring some stories in the Runeterra regions of Noxus, Ionia, and Demacia. While he didn't go into specifics, we at CheatCC have compiled a list of some stories that would best fit the style and drama established by Arcane.

It feels like a no-brainer to tell the story of Noxus' original invasion of Ionia and honestly, this is where I think the story is going next. Not only does this tell the stories of some of the more popular League of Legends champions but Arcane has been foreshadowing Jericho Swain, debatably the most important piece to this arc of lore, since the first season. With this story, we can expect to see fan-favorite characters like Karma, Irelia, Master Yi, Riven, and Draven.

If they wanted to implement a bit more drama into a Noxus-focused narrative then maybe it would make sense to retell the story of Blood of Noxus. This story follows important Noxus general, Darius, and the war veteran Quilletta Varn. Their story continues the themes set by Ambessa and Mel in Arcane as it's truly a tale about family and betrayal. Major players in this tale include Darius and Draven and even has some ties to Arcane's Progress Day in season 1.

The story of Jhin is just begging to be told in the beautiful style of Fortiche. It would be such a disservice for them not to dedicate some time to telling the story of one of the most popular League champions of all time. The story could draw inspiration from mystery novels and tell of a thrilling cat-and-mouse tale starring Shen and Zed. Fans of these champions would appreciate watching how these characters become who we see them as in-game.

Perhaps Riot and Fortiche can expand on the complicated lore of Syndra. Syndra's story can be compared to Jean Grey from X-Men. She's a very powerful mage whose strength scared those around her causing her humanity to be stripped as she was only seen as a weapon. Arcane loves to make use of parallels and two sides of a story, maybe a Syndra-focused story could explore these dynamics again but from a different angle. Noxus is also involved in this story so they wouldn't even have to pivot that hard from what has been set up.

A tale of two sisters might be a little bit too similar to the story already told with Arcane. However, Kayle and Morgana's story could be used as a vehicle to flesh out Runeterra's history. The Rune Wars have been hinted at and discussed many times throughout the game's lore. Maybe it's time for the depiction of what the Rune Wars were actually like. It would be fun to see champions like Ryze, Zyra, and Skarner in a new light. Kled and Evelynn would also be interesting antagonists.

The story of Sylas is probably one of the most fleshed-out tales of the Demacia region. If the region is going to get an Arcane-style animated series at some point, then you can probably assume it will be a retelling of this tale. The story is a political drama that showcases the good and bad of the region as well as introducing more popular League champions. Swain, Katarina, Garen, Jarvan IV, Lux, and of course, Sylas are all popular and very much deserve the attention and spotlight.

In all honesty, the most underrated choice is a retelling of the Ruination event. This story has been told multiple times through in-game events, a novel, as well as its own spin-off video game. However, none of these versions of this tale is the definitive one as each and every one of them contradicts the other in one way or another. Not only would the fans love to see champions like Miss Fortune, Vayne, Gwen, Lucian, Senna, and Viego in the fortiche style, but the fans deserve a true canonical telling of the ruined king. He is one of, if not the most important, characters in modern League of Legends.