Shōgun took the world by storm – and now, it’s getting a Season 2 adaptation.
When Shōgun premiered on FX as well as on Hulu, the series ended up becoming extremely big. Originally pitched as a limited series based on the novel by James Clavell, Shōgun was renewed for Season 2 and 3 in May of 2024 thanks to how well it was received (it’s won so many awards now) and the sheer amount of people who watched it.
But what do we know about Season 2 of Shōgun? Who is coming back? Here is what we know so far.
What Is The Shōgun Season 2 Premiere Date?
At the time of updating this article in January 2025, there is no set premiere date for Shōgun Season 2, which isn’t that surprising. The first season took years to make, so I would not expect it to premiere on any 2025 TV schedule.
However, we have gotten updates from one of executive producers (and star) Hiroyuki Sanada, where he spoke to THR in August 2024 that they were actively working on the writing for the next season:
We have a writers room, and they’re working every day. Hopefully sometime next year, we can start shooting.
Writing is nearly complete, as we’ll get into down below, but so far, we’re not sure when production will begin for the next season.
The Shōgun Season 2 Cast
So, if you’re like me, and you’re wondering who will appear in Shōgun Season 2, you’re not alone, because we’re all thinking that. However, there has only been one casting announcement confirmed – and that is that Hiroyuki Sanada will return as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, according to Deadline.
It isn’t that surprising, if we’re being honest. A lot of the characters that we got to know as the series went on were either killed off or their fates were sort of left up in the air. John Blackthorne was last seen trying to salvage the remains of the Erasmus and is still alive but we really don’t know what will happen next with him.
The other main character that we followed was Lady Mariko (played by the fabulous Anna Sawai). While she had some amazing moments throughout the series and several where it showed her strength and choosing fights for herself, the character ultimately dies in the penultimate episode.
On the other hand, Toranaga has gained an incredible amount of power now, and it makes sense that the next season would most likely continue his story, but for now, we don’t know what other characters might join him along the ride.
What Will Shōgun Season 2 Be About?
Alright, so at this point, you’re wondering what the next part of this show that was set to just be a limited series is going to be about, right? Well, we have some idea – and that it will be much “darker” than the first.
In an interview with THR in June 2024, the creators, Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, spoke about their research into developing Season 2, and how Season 2 will go beyond the novel that we know by James Clavell, and bring us to a much “darker chapter” of this story because Season 3 has been looked at as the “ending,” and this will be the part that connects it all”
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 second chapters go, kind of a darker chapter.
The interview also said that the creators, as well as Sanada, are working aside Clavell’s estate to “study his process of curation” so they can tell an authentic story.
Kondo and Marks have always been about authenticity with Shōgun, so it doesn’t shock me one bit that they are doing everything in their power to truly bring this story around and make it that much better in the next part – even if some CinemaBlend writers aren’t fans of a Season 2 of Shōgun.
Writing Is Almost Done
The last thing we know about Shōgun Season 2 is that writing for the next part is almost done. In an interview with Variety in January 2025, Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks revealed that writing is still ongoing but they are about “six weeks” from finishing everything up. This just makes me more excited for more updates.
What are you the most excited about when it comes to Shōgun Season 2? I’m going to need updates super quickly because I need to see so much more of this epic series.
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