Hiroyuki Sanada is excited about the new scripts and the possibilities for Season 2 of ‘Shogun.’
The actor recently appeared on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast and said they learned a lot from James Clavell’s novel which ‘Shogun’ is based on:
“We don’t have the novel. Freedom is there…I hope our writers will enjoy the freedom and respect the novel of course.”
‘Shogun’ is set in 1600s feudal Japan and tells the story of Lord Toranaga dealing with political challenges and using a British pilot to gain power. The show is mainly in Japanese with English subtitles. It premiered with two episodes on Hulu and FX, with the rest of the 10-episode series airing weekly.
The Creator’s Statements On The Show
The show will return for a second and third season as confirmed in May. ‘Shogun’s co-creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo previously talked about what to expect. Marks said:
“We told the story of the book to the end of the book, down to exactly the way the book ended. We’re very proud of that because the book ends so beautifully and boldly in this very unexpected and meditative kind of way. So, the story is complete.”
He added:
“We spent five years on this and it [felt] like thirty in terms of just that level of detail that you have to put in every single day. We didn’t have the nicest British Columbia winter that year when we shot it.”
Marks said the following about the second season:
“I don’t know. It’s gonna take some some recovery to think about what will be next. But honestly, it’s hard because you don’t have a master storyteller to set the map for you. So that would be a tough one.”
He also noted in June at an FX FYC event:
“There’s a lot of great conspiracy theory in history, a lot of different theories about, ‘Oh, it was said that this went on, but this really went on,’ and those little darker corners are what we’ve really enjoyed exploring. The third season is really an ending. We know where it starts, and we know where it ends, and we know who is there on that journey. We’re just focusing on part two right now to really make sure we can get to that point. But part two is, as the second chapters go, kind of a darker chapter.”
‘Shogun’ had 25 Emmy nominations, the most of any show this year. Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada are nominated for lead roles, while Tadanobu Asano and Takehiro Hira are up for supporting roles. You can stream Season 1 of ‘Shogun’ on Hulu.
