By: John M Jerva
The cable network FX is going back to Feudal Japan for its next series as it was announced that they will be bringing an adaptation of James Clavell’s bestselling novel to the small screen in a limited series. Better yet, Hiroyuki Sanada (Mortal Kombat, Army of the Dead) has enlisted for a starring role along with Lady Macbeth’s Cosmo Jarvis.
Per Deadline: Written by Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, Shōgun is set in feudal Japan. 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.
There is a third lead for the role of Lady Mariko which is currently being cast. No news on that front as of the time of this writing.
Sanada’s Yoshii Toranaga is a living legend. He is a powerful daimyo from a feared lineage, isolated and outnumbered by his enemies in Osaka Castle when the story begins. But little does anyone realize that Toranaga is a brilliant strategist, a master of the long game, and the holder of Japan’s ultimate fate.
Jarvis’ John Blackthorne is a restless English pilot in search of a destiny far from the world he was born into. His mission is to forge a path into the Pacific islands and disrupt Portuguese and Spanish interests in Japan. But Blackthorne finds more than he bargained for when his ship washes ashore within the territory of Toranaga, a deadly warlord who becomes his captor and spiritual mentor.
Shogun is looking to start production this summer. They filmmakers were looking to do a majority of filming in Japan but the pandemic and the Summer Olympics have most likely derailed that prospect.
Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune starred in the original 1980 miniseries. Yoko Shimada played the role of Mariko.
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Source: Deadline
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