Shogun Season 2 Might Actually Happen

It appears Shogun may come back for a second season. Deadline reports that Shogun star Hiroyuki Sanada has closed a deal to reprise his character, Lord Yoshii Toranaga, in a new season of the show.

Shogun, a 10-episode miniseries based on James Clavell’s novel, was a huge success for FX. Deadline said FX is till working out deals for other actors and “other elements” of a potential Season 2. Also uncertain is whether or not Shogun will be reclassified as a drama series as opposed to a limited series, which could affect the show’s categorization amid the 2024 Emmy campaign.

Before this, Shogun series co-creator Justin Marks said he would be open to the idea of making more seasons of Shogun if the team found the right story.

“I think if we had a story, if we could find a story, we would be open to it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “But I don’t think that anyone ever wants to be out over their skis without a roadmap and everything. And it’s also just about, do people want more of it?”

The answer to that question is probably yes, but Marks said a concern is that a potential Season 2 would take the story beyond what Clavell wrote.

“How do you even equal the roadmap that Clavell laid out? And I don’t know if it’s possible. I don’t know if Clavell could have done it either. That’s probably why he moved on to other books too, right? He knew what he had done,” Marks said.

All 10 episodes of Shogun are streaming now. The show takes place in Japan in the year 1600 at the start of a civil war. The story focuses on Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Sanada) as his enemies unite against him. As that’s happening, a European ship is marooned nearby, and navigator John Blackthrone (Cosmo Jarvis) gets involved in the story.

Shogun the book was published in 1975, and Paramount first adapted it for a TV show in 1980.