Shogun creator drops major hint about season two plot

‘It gives us a lot of ground to grow the show in a lot of exciting new directions,’ they said

Shogun co-creator Justin Marks has revealed there will be a “great love story” at the centre of the series’ forthcoming season two.

The samurai show’s first season, which scooped 18 Emmy awards, was one of 2024’s most-watched programmes. Adapted from a 1975 novel by James Clavell, the series tells the story of Japanese feudal lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), who encounters English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis).

It was confirmed this month that Shōgun’s second instalment will be set 10 years on from season one and will be a “wholly original new chapter”, departing from the source material.

Speaking to Metro after Shōgun scooped the Best International Series prize at the Bafta TV Awards on Sunday (May 11), Marks said he and showrunner Rachel Kondo are “really excited” for the time jump.

“Given the history that we’re working off of, I think it gives us a lot of ground to grow the show in a lot of exciting new directions,” he said.

“What’s most important is to honour the legacy of James Clavell’s book when it comes to the characterisations and the brilliant plotting and world-building that went on and the great love stories.”

Marks continued: “All of these things you can expect in the next season. Especially the love story part, there’s still a good one out there.”

Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranaga in ‘Shogun’ (FX)

Upon the release of the first season, Kondo and Marks suggested that Shōgun was designed as a limited series, meaning it would not be continuing beyond its 10 episodes.

This decision was reversed in the wake of the show’s success, with production for season two set to start in Vancouver in January 2026.

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FX previously revealed that the second season of Shōgun “continues the historically-inspired saga” of Lord Toranaga and John Blackthorne, “whose fates are inextricably entwined”.

When asked at the TV Baftas whether fans would be shocked by the Shōgun storylines to come, Marks said he expected viewers to be surprised.

Justin Marks and Rachel Kondon at the TV BAFTA Awards (Getty Images for BAFTA)

Last September, FX chairman John Landgraf told Deadline that – regardless of audience appetite – there are no plans to film seasons two and three back to back in January.

“I don’t know that we’re certain there will [be] three seasons,” he said. “But in really looking at the characters in the history that’s being depicted here, albeit in a fictionalised manner, it still feels to us like three is the right number of seasons to really do it justice.”