Shogun limited series adds Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis to lead

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Pack your bags, folks, because we’re going to feudal Japan for FX’s Shogun limited series!

Hiroyuki Sanada (Mortal Kombat, Army of the Dead) and Cosmo Jarvis (Calm With Horses, Nocturnal) have been cast as two of the three leads, Yoshii Toranaga and John Blackthorne, respectively. Based on James Clavell’s bestselling novel, Shogun tells a story from both a Western and Japanese perspective.

Per Deadline, Shogun is written by Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo. It charts the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne (Jarvis), a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga (Sanada), 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.

FX is currently on the hunt for an actress to play the mysterious Lady Mariko, a woman of many talents with much to prove to herself as well as others.

In 1980, Clavell’s Shogun was adapted into a critically acclaimed miniseries for NBC. It starred Richard Chamberlain as Major John Blackthorne, Toshiro Mifune as Lord Yoshi Toranaga, and Yoko Shimada as Lady Toda Mariko. How the FX series will differ from the upcoming version remains to be seen.

FX ordered the project to series back in 2018. In addition to writing the series, Marks also executive produces alongside Michaela Clavell, daughter of the late James Clavell. Kondo serves as co-executive producer. FX Productions will produce.