'Shogun' creator drops exciting update on season 2 release window
Shōgun creator Justin Marks had a major update on season 2, which also included a potential release window. The upcoming instalment will follow an original tale focusing on Hiroyuki Sanada's Yoshii Toranaga and Cosmo Jarvis' John Blackthorne.
Filming for the season will get underway in January 2026. According to Variety, Marks, speaking during a Disney+ preview event at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, gave a preview of Shōgun season 2's mammoth battle scenes and an "unexpected love story."
"Part 2 is, I would say, two things. Like the first season, I think part two is a really sweeping, beautiful, and you’re never going to see a coming, entirely unexpected love story," Marks said. "It’s also a story of war and the cost of war. 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."
"This show is going to take us a little while to produce. 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," he further added. "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."
The new season will return ten years in the aftermath of Toranaga emerging victorious in the Battle of Sekigahara. At the time of writing, there is no official confirmation on the plotline. However, it is safe to speculate that the spotlight will be on feudal Japan, with the focus on Toranaga and perhaps the consequences of the war. There are also enough narratives,s the period drama can explore how the lives of key characters change under Toranaga's leadership.
With Season 2 set to start filming only next year, it will be a while before any major updates follow. The show opened to positive critical acclaim, with special praise on the near-perfect portrayal of James Clavell's novel's 17th-century Japan. Only time will tell if the second instalment can match the level of expectation the maiden season did.
Shōgun season 1 is available for streaming on Hulu and Disney+
