Popular FX Limited Series Could Expand With Another Season: 'Shogun' Close to Renewal

Series star Hiroyuki Sanada has already reportedly signed a deal for a second season.

By Ashley Turner

FX's acclaimed historical drama series Shōgun, which garnered widespread critical acclaim, has a promising prospect of being renewed for an additional season, allowing the captivating narrative to continue unfolding. The Hollywood Reporter said that according to sources, Hiroyuki Sanada has signed an "if-come" deal that would allow him to return to the series if FX is successful in obtaining a second season for the limited series. 

Thus, if FX can resolve the issues behind the scenes and officially greenlight a second season, Sanada will return. Sources also said other extenuating circumstances are being dealt with by FX and CEO John Landgraf in order to ensure that a renewal is possible. 

As the titular character, Sanada was at the heart of the story in the original installment, which Toranaga, a brilliant strategist and a master of the long game, spent largely in opposition, plotting how to overthrow the oppressive fellow Regents in feudal Japan and unite the country. Sanada played the central role in the original installment as the titular character, Lord Yoshii Toranaga. An expert strategist and master at playing the long game, Toranaga spends the majority of his time opposing his fellow Regents and plotting the overthrow and unification of feudal Japan.

The drama, written by Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, took six years to develop across multiple continents, ranking as FX's most expensive scripted production. Based on James Clavell's 1975 novel of the same name, it follows NBC's 1980 Richard Chamberlain miniseries. 

The FX project's series debut on Hulu, Disney+, and Star+ collected more than 9 million streaming views worldwide, making it Disney's best worldwide debut of a general entertainment scripted series so far. As the company's No. 1 general entertainment series internationally and the No. 1 FX premiere on the Disney streaming platforms, the network is looking to extend that success with another season and capitalize on its investment recreating 17th century Japan in Canada where Shōgun was filmed.

The series has become the company's No. 1 general entertainment television show globally and the No. 1 FX premiere on Disney streaming services. The network is looking to continue its success and capitalize on its investment in recreating 17th-century Japan in Canada. A veteran actor-producer who has been in the industry for decades, Sanada has recently starred in John Wick: Chapter 4, Bullet Train, and Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead and is returning to his Mortal Kombat role in the sequel to the movie. 

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After the finale, Justin Marks told THR in an interview with co-creator Rachel Kondo, "I think if we had a story, if we could find a story, we would be open to it. But I don't think that anyone ever wants to be out over their skis without a roadmap and everything. And it's also just about, do people want more of it? But it's also about, not even topping the book, but, how do you even equal the roadmap that Clavell laid out? And I don't know if it's possible. I don't know if Clavell could have done it either. That's probably why he moved on to other books too, right? He knew what he had done. Yeah, it's a tough one." 

During a recent conversation about the finale, Sanada himself expressed the same sentiment: "We've been talking about how the story can continue since we started shooting, but who knows."

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