gen:LOCK Season 2 Release Date & Story

Here’s what to know about Rooster Teeth anime gen:LOCK season 2, including what it’s story is about. Created by Gray Haddock, gen:LOCK is a sci-fi mecha anime series that aired its acclaimed first season in 2019. It’s set in a not-too-distant dystopian future in which a global culture war has erupted between two political factions – the totalitarian Union, which seeks to establish a collectivist monoculture, and the Polity, a coalition that promotes civil liberty and freedom of expression.

The anime follows a group of Polity recruits who are taking part in an experimental technology program (the titular gen:LOCK) which allows their consciences to be uploaded to giant mecha known as Holons so they can effectively fight the Union. The gen:LOCK recruits are voiced by a star-studded cast that includes Michael B. Jordan as experienced pilot Julian Chase, Maisie Williams as Scottish hacker Cammie MacCloud and Kōichi Yamadera as former Japanese military sergeant Kazu Iida. The gen:LOCK cast also features David Tennant as program creator Dr. Rufus Weller and Dakota Fanning as Miranda Worth, Chase’s former girlfriend and a member of Polity military arm the Vanguard.

gen:LOCK was renewed for a second season in late 2019, and released a couple of years later. gen:LOCK season 2 debuted in November 2021, although this piece remains spoiler-free for anyone still catching up.

gen:LOCK Season 2 Release Date

gen:LOCK season 2 released on November 4, 2021. gen:LOCK season 2 contained eight episodes, with the finale airing on December 23, 2021. The season debuted with an exclusive 90-day run on Rooster Teeth’s corporate sibling HBO Max that 90-day period, following which gen:LOCK season 2 will be available via the Rooster Teeth website for FIRST members. That means gen:LOCK season 2 will be available on the Rooster Teeth website in February 2021.

gen:LOCK Season 2 Story

As reported by Variety exclusive, the writer’s room for gen:LOCK season 2 featured a diverse and inclusive team made up of Daniel Dominguez, Maasai Singleton, Evan Narcisse, Kristle Peluso and Gavin Hignight. The move was part of #changehollywood – an initiative launched by Michael B. Jordan and his production company Outlier Society (who co-produce gen:LOCK) that aims to increase behind-the-scenes representation of Black, Latino and LGBTQ communities in TV and film.

The same exclusive provided an official synopsis of gen:LOCK season 2, promising plenty more brutal battles between the Polity and the Union, alongside the introduction of new characters and intriguing new plot twists. Check out the official gen:LOCK season 2 synopsis below:

“On a dying Earth in the midst of a now unstoppable climate collapse, two utterly distinct visions for the future of the human race have come to dominate: The Polity and the Union. The future of humanity, if it is to have one, rests in some form of mechanization or digitization. On opposing sides of this fundamental debate, the Polity and the Union remained locked in a brutal and unforgiving war…

A war the Polity is losing, despite the heroic efforts of their greatest soldiers, the Gen:Lock team – Chase, Cammie, Yaz, Kazu and Val, who continue to upload their minds to their Holon units and fight for their vision of a better future on the front lines.

As we meet the figurehead of the Union — Brother Tate — and the citizens for whom he spills Polity blood, the nature of the conflict between the two sides will be seen in a whole new light. A light that, for Chase, will test his loyalty to the Polity… as he digs deeper into the nature of the war and realizes nothing he thought is what it seems…”