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Spoilers for Sh\u014dgun<\/em> season 1 ahead.<\/p>\n Since the electrifying conclusion of FX\u2019s hit limited series Sh\u014dgun<\/em>, questions about a potential second season<\/a> have lingered\u2014and now intensified\u2014with a new report<\/a> that star and producer Hiroyuki Sanada<\/strong><\/a> has signed on to reprise his role as Lord Yoshii Toranaga.<\/p>\n According to Deadline, Sanada has agreed to return to the show, in which his character battles to become a military dictator in 17th-century Japan. But sources tell the publication that \u201cother elements are still being worked out and deals are being finalized\u201d in an effort to extend Sh\u014dgun<\/em>, which was only meant to last a single season. Making such a move would throw a compelling wrench into this year\u2019s Emmys race<\/a>, with the show potentially competing as a drama rather than a limited series. Vanity Fair<\/em> has reached out to reps for FX for comment.<\/p>\n Adapted from the 1975 James Clavell novel by co-creators Justin Marks<\/strong> and Rachel Kondo<\/strong>, Sh\u014dgun<\/em> has been a runaway hit since its February debut. \u201cUltimately, the audience gets to decide whether it\u2019s something they want,\u201d FX CEO John Landgraf<\/strong> previously told The Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a>, adding that a follow-up would have to be \u201cbig and detailed as well as really deep in terms of character and the human condition.\u201d Given its critical acclaim<\/a> and commercial popularity<\/a>\u2014the series beat season two of The Bear<\/em> as the most-watched Hulu premiere ever\u2014it\u2019s clear that appetite for the show is high.<\/p>\n Ahead, a look at everything we know\u2014and have yet to learn\u2014about a potential second season of Sh\u014dgun<\/em>.<\/p>\n So far, only Sanada\u2019s name has been mentioned in reports about a possible return to the series. As the actor previously told Vanity Fair<\/em><\/a>, \u201cThe novel\u2019s events finish with our [finale], episode 10. If they want to make something more, it\u2019s going to be totally original. Who knows? The model of Sh\u014dgun<\/em> makes it easy to see what happened in real life, and then we can create an original story from then. Who knows? We have history.\u201d<\/p>\n While Sanada has left the door open for a reprisal, the future is less clear for other characters, including Cosmo Jarvis<\/strong>\u2019s Jack Blackthorne<\/a>. He previously told VF<\/em> about how difficult it was to leave the role behind at the end of filming for season one. \u201cBlackthorne totally preoccupied and consumed me, and had for so long,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen it came to the final shot, it was just horrific, because it\u2019s only then that I suppose Blackthorne had to be left behind and all of these adventures had to be left behind. And it was just kind of sad, you know? I suppose in a way it was relieving, but also, then you\u2019re just another unemployed actor, and you don’t know what’s going to come next.\u201d<\/p>\n There are at least a few beloved characters who will not return, as long as the second season follows a linear format. Tadanobu Asano<\/strong>\u2019s Yabushige, who is sentenced to commit seppuku, a noble form of taking one\u2019s own life, by Lord Toranaga in the finale. In the season\u2019s penultimate episode, it is Anna Sawai<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Lady Mariko who meets her death<\/a> in an act of similar sacrifice.<\/p>\n Marks confirmed early on<\/a> that the first season of Sh\u014dgun<\/em> would conclude \u201cexactly where the book ends\u201d and that he and Kondo \u201ctell the complete story of the book\u201d within its 10 episodes. But Clavell did write six books in his Asian Saga<\/a>, including Sh\u014dgun<\/em>, the third novel in his series. Each installment in the nonlinear sequence explores Europeans in Asia, with each centering on a different time period and location, spanning from Hong Kong to Iran.<\/p>\n If the creators were thinking purely chronologically, the next chapter of Sh\u014dgun<\/em> would be Tai-Pan,<\/em> the second novel in Clavell\u2019s series, set in 1841 Hong Kong at the last gaps of the Opium War. Sanada\u2019s potential involvement certainly suggests that at least his character would still be present in another iteration\u2014even if the rest of the story assumed more of an anthology feel.<\/p>\n Given that a renewal is purely speculative at this point, there\u2019s no firm release date to share. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a> last month, Marks noted the \u201clong tail of postproduction\u201d on the show, which could prolong the waiting period before a follow-up. \u201cIt\u2019s not like a normal TV series, where if we were in a situation like this promoting it, we wouldn\u2019t just be in the writers room already,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe\u2019d be on set shooting season two by now.\u201d<\/p>\nWho will return for season 2 of Sh\u014dgun<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What will season 2 of Sh\u014dgun<\/em> be about?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
When does Sh\u014dgun<\/em> season 2 come out?<\/strong><\/h2>\n