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Shogun season 2 news, rumors and possible release date

Published

1 month ago

May 21, 2024

If you loved the atmosphere of Shogun, we have good news for you. Surprisingly, FX has announced plans to create two more seasons of the 17th century set hit.

Before the series debuted on Hulu, everyone wondered if the story would be completed in one season. FX described the show as a limited series and within ten episodes the entire James Clavell novel had been adapted, so a new season seemed unlikely.

Shogun’s excellent viewership and favorable reviews apparently caused FX to reconsider its plans. Therefore, seasons 2 and 3 of the story of the power struggle in Japan’s Edo period will be released on Hulu. Here’s everything we know about the next installments of the series.

When could Shogun season 2 be released?

FX has not yet announced a release date for the next two seasons. The second part of Shogun is in the early stages of development; work on the scripts will begin this summer.

So we estimate that new episodes may appear at the earliest by the end of 2025.

What could the plot of Shogun season 2 entail?

According to early information, the second season will begin shortly after the end of the first season.

Here is the press release from FX:

FX, Hulu and the Estate of James Clavell are expanding the critically acclaimed global hit drama Shōgun and continuing to develop the saga with two additional seasons of the drama series. The show’s key creative partners, including co-creators, executive producers and writers Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, executive producer Michaela Clavell, and series star and producer Hiroyuki Sanada, are on board for development. Production timing has not yet been set, but a writers’ room is being put together and will launch this summer.

James Clavell’s novel is loosely based on the real-life rise of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in the 17th century, aided by his shipwrecked advisor William Adams, who was the first Englishman to reach Japan.

Clavell, a writer, screenwriter, director and World War II veteran, spent three years researching the novel. Although Shogun has been romanticized, it is agreed that Clavell captured the reality of 17th-century feudal Japan well.

The subsequent history of William Adams and Tokugawa Ieyasu was quite colorful. Adams joined the Tokugawa in the famous Battle of Sekigahara. He built ships based on European models, helped establish trade relations with the Netherlands and England and traveled to Southeast Asia. He was rewarded with the title of Samurai for his services and never returned to England.

After his victory at Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu destroyed enemy clans and began to strengthen his shogunate. In the following years he came into conflict with the deposed heir of the late Taiko, who for some samurai was the rightful ruler of Japan. The young heir started a rebellion against Tokugawa, who in retaliation laid siege to Osaka Castle.

The FX series is a faithful adaptation of Clavell’s book, inspired by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu’s rise to power. The writer presented the historical events only to a certain extent, the war and the eventual clash with the regent’s forces appeared only in a brief flash-forward.

If FX wants to make two more seasons of the series, their storylines will have to be developed by the screenwriters themselves.

Who can return in Shogun season 2?

Hiroyuki Sanada as Yoshii Toranaga, the mighty lord
Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne, English maritime pilot
Takehiro Hira as Ishido Kazunari, one of the Five Regents, Toranaga’s main enemy
Eita Okuno as Saeki Nobutatsu, Toranaga’s half-brother
Fumi Nikaido as Ochiba no Kata, the consort of the late Taiko
Shinnosuke Abe as Toda “Buntaro” Hirokatsu, Mariko’s husband
Hiroto Kanai as Kashigi Omi, Yabushige’s cousin
Moeka Hoshi as Usami Fuji, widow and Blackthorne’s consort
Yasunari Takeshima as Tonomoto Akinao, a loyal samurai who serves Toranaga
Sen. Mars as Nakamura Yaechiyo, heir to the Taiko
Yoriko Doguchi as Kiri no Kata, Toranaga’s wife
Mako Fujimoto as Shizu no Kata, Toranaga’s consort
Tommy Bastow as Father Martin Alvito, a Portuguese priest
Paulino Nunes as visitor father Carlo Dell’Acqua