FX has officially announced the full cast for the highly anticipated second season of its award-winning drama Shōgun. The new chapter will bring back the core characters while introducing fresh faces to the story. Production is scheduled to begin in Vancouver in January.
The returning and new cast members were confirmed as part of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific Disney+ Originals Preview event in Hong Kong. The second season will continue the saga of Lord Yoshii Toranaga and English pilot John Blackthorne, set a decade after the events of the first season.
Returning Cast Members
Leading the return for Shōgun Season 2 are Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga and Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne. They will be joined by several familiar faces from the first season, ensuring continuity while the story moves forward.
The confirmed returning cast includes:
- Fumi Nikaidô as Ochiba no Kata, the mother of the former heir
- Shinnosuke Abe as Buntaro, Mariko’s husband
- Hiroto Kanai as Omi, Yabushige’s nephew
- Yoriko Dôguchi as Kiri, Toranaga’s wife
- Tommy Bastow as Father Alvito, the Portuguese priest
- Yuko Miyamoto as Gin, the brothel proprietor
- Eita Okuno as Saeki, Toranaga’s half-brother
- Yuka Kouri as Kiku, the courtesan
Notably, characters like Anna Sawai’s Mariko and Tadanobu Asano’s Yabushige, who died in the first season, will not return.
New Characters and Cast
Season 2 will introduce five key new characters, expanding the world of feudal Japan. The new cast members bring a wealth of experience from Japanese film and television.
The new additions are:
- Asami Mizukawa in the role of Aya
- Masataka Kubota as Hyūga
- Sho Kaneta as Hidenobu
- Takaaki Enoki as Lord Ito
- Jun Kunimura as Gōda
These new characters will interact with the established cast in a story that continues to explore the complex political landscape of the period.
Story and Setting for Season 2
The new season will present a wholly original story, as the first season completely adapted James Clavell’s bestselling novel. The narrative will jump forward in time, exploring a new chapter in the lives of the main characters.
Shōgun Season 2 is set ten years after the events of the first season and will continue the historically-inspired saga of Lord Toranaga and John Blackthorne, two men from different worlds whose fates remain linked.
Co-creator Justin Marks explained the creative decision to move the story forward, stating that the jump in time allows the audience to rediscover the characters and see how their lives have changed over the past decade.
Creative Team and Production
The creative team behind the first season is largely returning for the new chapters. The writing staff for Season 2 includes co-creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, along with Shannon Goss, Matt Lambert, Maegan Houang, Emily Yoshida, Caillin Puente, and Sofie Somoroff.
The directing team will feature returning directors Hiromi Kamata and Takeshi Fukunaga from the first season. They will be joined by new directors Anthony Byrne, Kate Herron, and co-creator Justin Marks.
Co-creator Justin Marks teased the scale of the upcoming season, saying, “There are battle sequences that we’re putting together now in part two. I don’t think you’ve ever seen anything like this kind of scale, this kind of tragedy and this kind of humanity.”
Behind the scenes, Hiroyuki Sanada has been elevated to executive producer for the new season, while Cosmo Jarvis will serve as a co-executive producer.
Release Information
With production starting in January, audiences will have to wait a bit longer for the new season. While an exact premiere date has not been set, the timeline suggests a potential release in early 2027.
When it debuts, the season will be available in the U.S. on FX’s linear channel and for streaming on Hulu. International audiences will be able to stream new episodes on Disney+. The entire first season is currently available to watch on Hulu.
The first season of Shōgun was a critical and awards sensation, making history at the 2024 Emmy Awards by winning a record-breaking 18 statuettes. The show broke the record for the most Emmys won by a series in a single season. Hiroyuki Sanada became the first Japanese actor to win the Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and Anna Sawai was the first actress of Asian descent to win Lead Actress in the same category.
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