FX has released the first trailer for Shogun, a series about a European sailor who survives a shipwreck in Feudal Japan. Based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel of the same name, Shogun is a period drama that takes place right before the start of Japan’s isolationist policy, which effectively closed it off from trade or immigration with most other countries.
What is Shogun‘s release date?
The 10-episode series is currently slated for a premiere in February 2024. Per Variety, “The limited series will debut its first two episodes on Feb. 27, 2024, on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories. A new episode will drop each week on the streamers, and the FX linear channel will telecast new episodes once each week.”
Check out the official Shogun trailer!
The official synopsis for Shogun reads: “The collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne, a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance.”
It’s hard to tell if or how the show will reckon with its source material being written by an Australian man. It definitely seems like Shogun is working to be more accurate than the 1980s iteration, but still falls into the trap of needing a white protagonist to appeal to the western audience.
Here’s the complete Shogun cast list
Shogun has a stacked cast: Cosmo Jarvis plays Pilot Major (Chief Navigator) John Blackthorne, Hiroyuki Sanada plays Lord Yoshi Toranaga, and Anna Sawai plays Toda Mariko.
The cast also includes Tadanobu Asano as Kashigi Yabu, Fumi Nikaido as Ochiba No Kata (Lady Ochiba), Tokuma Nishioka as Toda Hiromatsu, Takehiro Hira as Ishido Kazunari, Ako as Daiyoin Lady Iyo, Shinnosuke Abe as Toda Buntaro, Yasunari Takeshima as Mura, Hiroto Kanai as Kashigi Omi, Toshi Toda as Sugiyama, and Hiro Kanagawa as Igurashi
Development of Shogun began in 2018. Principal photography was originally slated to begin in March of 2019, but was delayed for rewrites. Due to the rewrites and the COVID-19 pandemic, filming for the show didn’t start until September 2021 and didn’t end until June 2022, a whole two months behind schedule.
Jonathan van Tulleken, Charlotte Brändström, Hiromi Kamata, Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, and Takeshi Fukunaga are all confirmed to be directing episodes of Shogun. Nigel Williams, Emily Yoshida, Matt Lambert, Maegan Houang, Shannon Goss, Rachel Kondo, and Caillin Puente all serve as writers on the show.
(featured image: FX)
