\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThe creators of Emmy-winning drama \u201cShogun\u201d offered tantalizing glimpses into the ambitious scope of the show\u2019s second season during a discussion at the Disney+ originals preview at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort on Thursday, promising unprecedented battle sequences and an unexpected romance alongside the series\u2019 10-year narrative leap.<\/p>\n
\n\tCo-creator and executive producer Justin Marks described the sophomore season as both a sweeping love story and an exploration of war\u2019s devastating cost, teasing visual scale that will push beyond what audiences have seen before. \u201cPart 2 is, I would say two things,\u201d Marks said. \u201cLike the first season, I think part two is a really sweeping, beautiful and you\u2019re never going to see a coming, entirely unexpected love story. It\u2019s also a story of war and the cost of war. There are battle sequences that we\u2019re putting together now in part two. I don\u2019t think you\u2019ve ever seen anything like this kind of scale, this kind of tragedy and this kind of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe new season will jump ahead a decade from the events that concluded season one, a creative choice that Marks said reflects both the realities of modern television production and an opportunity to rediscover the characters in a fresh context. \u201cThis show is going to take us a little while to produce. It\u2019s not coming out one year later, and there\u2019s this thing that drives me crazy when you watch a show that ended three years ago, and you get into season two and it\u2019s like five minutes later,\u201d Marks explained. \u201cWe\u2019re 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\u2019s changed in their lives over the course of the last 10 years, and to rediscover them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe time jump also serves the show\u2019s larger ambitions as what Marks described as \u201ca saga first and foremost.\u201d While the first season centered on agency and power, following \u201ca man intent on bringing about peace from the threshold of war,\u201d the historical reality of feudal Japan\u2019s trajectory means season two will grapple with different themes. \u201cAs we know in history, that\u2019s not quite how things turned out for feudal Japan at that time,\u201d Marks noted.<\/p>\n
\n\tCo-creator and executive producer Rachel Kondo said the connection audiences formed with the first season has given the creative team confidence to venture into more challenging territory. \u201cI think it was surprising to us that the audience was drawn to the story as emotionally and as profoundly as they were,\u201d Kondo said. \u201cWhat we felt in the audience was that they had lent us the most important things. They lent us their time. They lent us their care, they lent us their attention. It\u2019s really the thing that we take into season two, because it\u2019s what emboldens us.\u201d That trust, she suggested, opens creative possibilities. \u201cIf we had people follow us into this land of feudal Japan, maybe they\u2019ll follow us into some deeper, more cavernous spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tStar and executive producer Sanada Hiroyuki, whose performance as Lord Toranaga Yoshii earned him Emmy and Golden Globe awards, spoke extensively about the show\u2019s impact and what lies ahead. \u201cIt was a great surprise, big surprise,\u201d Sanada said. \u201cWe got a lot of awards, and for me, especially as a producer and as a leading actor, each time I got a award, that was amazing. I could never have imagined shooting in Vancouver a few years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe veteran actor, who started as a child actor in Japan and has worked for 40 years locally and 20 years in Hollywood, reflected on pouring all that experience into the first season. \u201cBeing recognized in this way is a significant point in my life,\u201d he said. \u201cDuring the awards ceremonies, the faces of all the people involved, my seniors and teachers, appeared in my mind. In a sense, I feel I was able to repay them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSanada emphasized the broader significance of the show\u2019s success for Asian talent globally. \u201cThe awards I received are not just for this work, not just for Japanese actors, but they represent opportunities expanding for talented individuals from various countries,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat was once called a dream can now be achieved if you work toward it. I hope this becomes a message.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tHe had encouragement for aspiring actors. \u201cAs long as you prepare yourself so you won\u2019t be flustered when your chance comes, by learning language, acting, and physical skills including movement, I believe opportunities like this will come again,\u201d Sanada said. \u201cI think this \u2018Shogun\u2019 platform has become an important stage for giving chances to wonderful young talent and introducing them to the world. Please look forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSpeaking about working with younger actors, including Asano Tadanobu, who played Yabushige Kashigi in the first season, Sanada said the experience has been enriching. \u201cWorking with young actors is always stimulating, and I learn a lot from them as well,\u201d he said. As both an actor and producer on the series, he was able to provide guidance from early production stages, including advising on physical movement, sword techniques and how to sheathe the sword properly. \u201cWhen good takes were captured, I felt even happier than when I succeeded myself. I worked with a parental feeling of joy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen asked what audiences can expect from the new season, Sanada teased surprises. \u201cThis is a historical story, but even those who know what happened in history will be freshly surprised and excited by the twists,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\tSanada acknowledged the pressure of following up the first season\u2019s success while expressing confidence in the team. \u201cOf course, I have pressure for Season 2, but we have a teamwork from season one, and we have a lot of great new casts, so I can\u2019t wait to start shooting, and I can use my pressure as strength to create even better season two,\u201d he said. Kondo playfully reminded him to rest and take vitamins, noting that the new season will be demanding. Sanada joked that playing the character 10 years older might allow for a quieter performance.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe production is bringing back two directors from the first season, Kamata Hiromi and Fukunaga Takeshi, while adding new voices including Anthony Byrne, Kate Herron and Marks himself to the directorial roster. Marks praised the new directors\u2019 deep engagement with the show\u2019s world. \u201cAnthony and Kate, these two new faces coming to our show in Vancouver are filmmakers and visionaries in their own right, and came to this show as people who had really immersed themselves in the world of season one and fallen in love with it. We were really touched by that and the insights they had.\u201d The directors are currently in pre-production in Vancouver, building sets for what promises to be a visually ambitious season.<\/p>\n
\n\tWith Season 2 venturing beyond James Clavell\u2019s original novel, Marks emphasized the continued close partnership with the author\u2019s estate. Clavell\u2019s daughter Michaela remains an executive producer on the series and has been deeply involved in every creative decision. \u201cShe\u2019s been for us from the very beginning, our muse in this process, someone who really understands her father\u2019s words and has been engaged on every draft, every casting choice, every director choice,\u201d Marks said. \u201cShe really has been someone who keeps us honest with the words.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe creative team began developing ideas for Season 2 during production of the first season, leaning into what Marks described as \u201cthe spirit of storytelling from the era in which \u2018Shogun\u2019 was written, which is a great serialized saga storytelling of the 70s, where you could just pick up a story and get immersed in 100 different horizontal directions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tKondo suggested that working within constraints has actually enhanced their storytelling approach. \u201cI think we discovered that having parameters enhance the story,\u201d she said. \u201cWe had so many blockades along the way, COVID, a huge shoot, inexperienced people. We learned to invite parameters. The biggest parameter of all right now for us is this history itself. We have to work within the confines of what has happened and make choices and be discerning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMarks credited FX with giving the production creative freedom from the start, including the bold decision to produce the show predominantly in Japanese with subtitles. \u201cThey allowed us to make these risks,\u201d he said. \u201cTo do this show in the United States, predominantly in Japanese, to allow us to subtitle it in the way that we did. That\u2019s on them, to really give it to us. It was a very courageous choice on their end.\u201d That creative courage extended to allowing the show to explore \u201cpoetry and performance and dance contests and all kinds of things\u201d rather than defaulting to more conventional action-driven storytelling.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile the creators remained tight-lipped about specific plot details, Marks acknowledged that the new season will introduce fresh faces alongside returning cast members. \u201cWe killed a lot of people\u201d in the first season, he said. \u201cWe have some really exciting characters this season, characters that I want to tell you everything about, but cannot. These faces really popped for us, so we\u2019re just so excited to bring our own family together with these new faces and watch them become part of this world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cShogun\u201d Season 1 broke the record for most Emmy Award wins by a series in a single season with 18 statuettes. Sanada became the first Japanese actor history to win the Emmy for best lead actor in a drama. Anna Sawai was also the first actress of Asian decent to win best lead actress in a drama.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The creators of Emmy-winning drama \u201cShogun\u201d offered tantalizing glimpses into the ambitious scope of the show\u2019s second season during a discussion at the Disney+ originals preview at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort on Thursday, promising unprecedented battle sequences and an unexpected romance alongside the series\u2019 10-year narrative leap. Co-creator and executive producer Justin Marks described the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[6756,3238,1253,225,19060,19059,1522,16337,261],"class_list":{"0":"post-33223","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-creators","9":"tag-epic","10":"tag-love","11":"tag-season","12":"tag-sequences","13":"tag-shogun","14":"tag-story","15":"tag-tease","16":"tag-war"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}