“We are aiming for the fall of this year, and the writers’ room is working so hard now,” Sanada told Variety this weekend, saying the series is aiming to begin filming again some time in the second half of 2025. The writers’ room is presumably having to work extra hard because they’re out of book to adapt: The series was originally conceived and sold as a miniseries, fully adapting James Clavell’s classic novel, before FX clearly started grabbing people and screaming “Are you insane, this thing’s a hit.” Although FX reportedly hasn’t handed out a formal green light to begin filming on the new season, they’re presumably confident enough that the show can go on past Clavell’s stopping point that Sanada feels fine stating he’ll be back on set soon.
“We’re going to have half [of the Season 1] cast remaining, and then half new cast coming,” Sanada said. “We are finding the best crew for next season now, so I’m excited.” (The show’s creators have been a little more circumspect, with co-creator Rachel Kondo giving a much more reserved “We’re still trying. We haven’t given up. And I’m not sure what we can say” when asked about progress on writing the new seasons in January.) Shōgun is currently in the midst of a little awards season victory lap: Having absolutely stomped all-comers at the Emmys (setting a new record for most awards won by a single season of TV), and then cleaned up at the Golden Globes, the show swept a decent chunk of the Critics Choice Awards on Friday night, with Sanada and co-stars Moeka Hoshi and Tadanobu Asano all winning acting awards at the ceremony.
