Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) inspects his troops. The cunning general could soon be seen in the second season of Shogun. Image source: FX Networks.
For Disney and the responsible production studio FX Network, Shogun is a gigantic success. The miniseries was showered with praise by critics, with the first episode alone achieving record-breaking ratings within a week. 9 million views achieve.
It is logical that the historical epic about the rise of the Japanese general Toranaga is also a hot contender for various film and television awards this year. Among the recently announced candidates for the Emmy Awards, for example, Shogun can boast about Nominations in a whopping 25 categories be happy.
These include the prestigious categories Best Series, Best Screenplay, Best Costume Design and Best Actor.
And it is precisely this popularity that puts Shogun in a dilemma: The series was actually intended as a so-called limited series, and a second season was never planned. However, the high number of viewers, fantastic ratings and awards are forcing those responsible to produce one.
Now the planning is apparently progressing. Two months ago it was announced that lead actor Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai, Bullet Train) had signed a contract for a possible second season. The submission to the Emmys as a drama with sequel was also a clear indication of the intentions of those responsible.
Compared to the American Industry website Variety FX boss John Landgraf has now commented for the first time on a timetable for the sequel. According to him, production could begin as early as 2025. According to Landgraf, the two showrunners Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo are already hard at work on the script for season 2.
We hope to start production relatively early next year. But we have a long production period ahead of us. If I remember correctly, we shot the first season for around 190 days with both filming teams.
John Landgrave
Realistically, this means that the second season is not expected to be released before 2026. But given the dimensions of a show like Shogun, such a schedule is understandable.
Shogun could win an award at this year’s Emmys for its magnificent period costumes, among other things. Images: FX Networks.
However, working on the sequel is likely to be much more difficult than producing Season 1. After all, it was based on the book of the same name by British author James Clavell. However, this template has been used up after ten episodes. Now new ideas are needed.
This creative freedom made fans – and GameStar author Jesko – worry that the quality of the story in the second season could drop significantly due to the lack of a book. In addition, the plot was self-contained with Season 1. On the other hand, the plan could work out for Shogun, as the series does not necessarily need the book.
Clavell’s novel is based on real historical events. One look at the historical rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate is enough to see that subsequent events still offer plenty of the bloody battles, political maneuvers and intrigues that fans love so much.
Missed Shogun? If you haven’t seen the adventures of John Blackthorne aka Anjin-san yet, you can now catch up on the entire series on Disney+. All ten episodes are available there in full length and in Europe.
We want your opinion: Do you want to see a second season of Shogun? What exactly do you expect from the sequel? Or has the hype surrounding the Japanese historical series left you completely cold? Write it in the comments!
