When Shōgun debuted back in 2024, the historical drama quickly became one of the most coveted shows of the year. Created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, the series was initially meant to last for one season, but after soaring ratings, FX renewed it for another season.
Given that Shōgun is based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell, season 1 told a complete story, covering the entirety of the original novel. Looking ahead to season 2, the series will tell its own original story. We already know that the new season will continue the story of its leads Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), but beyond that, details have been sparse.
In a recent interview with Variety, co-showrunner Justin Marks expanded on what fans can expect, revealing that Shōgun season 2 involves an "entirely unexpected love story,” but continues its high-stakes narrative: "[It’s] a story of war and the cost of war"
Naturally, the production team have a higher budget to create battles of an unprecedented scale. "There are battle sequences that we're putting together now in part two," he said. "I don't think you've ever seen anything like this kind of scale, this kind of tragedy and this kind of humanity."
One of the biggest issues the show has faced is how it tied up season 1. A lot of fan-favorite characters were killed off. That said, between returning characters and new faces, re-capturing the magic of season 1 shouldn’t be a problem. "We have some really exciting characters this season, characters that I want to tell you everything about, but cannot," said Marks. "These faces really popped for us, so we're just so excited to bring our own family together with these new faces and watch them become part of this world."
Shōgun season 2 won’t premiere anytime soon.
Shōgun season 2 will enter production in January 2026. Needless to say, it’s going to be a gigantic undertaking for all involved. "This show is going to take us a little while to produce," Marks explained.
While long wait times might be irritating for fans, Marks says the team is using the opportunity to add a decade-long time-jump into the story.
"It's not coming out one year later, and there’s this thing that drives me crazy when you watch a show that ended three years ago, and you get into season two and it's like five minutes later. We're trying to use this jump as a way to come back to our characters again for the very first time, to see them, to see what's changed in their lives over the course of the last 10 years, and to rediscover them."
In addition to Sanada and Jarvis, other returning cast members from season 1 confirmed for season 2 include Fumi Nikaidô as Ochiba, Shinnosuke Abe as Buntaro, Hiroto Kanai as Omi, Yoriko Dôguchi as Kiri, Tommy Bastow as Alvito, Yuko Miyamoto as Gin, Eita Okuno as Saeki, and Yuka Kouri as Kiku (via Deadline).
Are you excited for Shōgun season 2? Give us all your opinions.