Riot struggles to develop League of Legends outside of video games
Interested in the return of the series and the future of Riot Forge in the world of television, Variety looked into the case of Arcane in a long article detailing the issues surrounding the release of the second season. We learn in particular that with its $250 million budget for seasons 1 and 2 combined, Arcane is the most expensive animated series in history. A budget which is comparable to certain huge live-action cinema productions, and which is perhaps the result of Riot's inexperience in this very specific sector.
Variety indicates that the bill increased in particular because scenario delays for this second season, when production had already started. It is also estimated that the company would have spent $60 million out of his own pocket to promote the first season ofArcane. A marketing budget much higher than that put on the table by Netflix, which is far from usual for a series with a distributor. The second season would have reduced expenses on this side, although we still do not know the exact amount of the budget allocated to this aspect.
Well aware that Riot does not operate like any studio in the world of streaming and television, Marc Merill, one of the co-founders, declares:
« We never intended to operate as a traditional studio with traditional deadlines. What changed as we learned more was our expectations of ourselves: we realized that it took much longer than expected to succeed. So we recalibrated our development, production goals and teams with this in mind. »
But when Arcane will be finished, what to do? Riot is still testing the waters and its inexperience in Hollywood has already cost it dearly. Variety reports that in 2020, the studio had reached a deal with Joe and Anthony Russo, the two directors behind the last two films Avengers. The duo was to make a film in the universe of League of Legendsbut this partnership fell through when Riot decided to review its plans, which forced the studio to pay the sum of 5 million dollars to the two brothers to end the contract.
Between management's desire to grow in the entertainment industry and that of artists focused on video games who preferred to see the studio stay in its area of expertise, Riot experienced a few years full of differences, which explains the lack of adaptations of League of Legends Today. It remains to be seen whether the end of Arcane will restart the machine.
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