It looks like FX found its leading duo for the upcoming adaptation of James Clavell‘s Shogun novel. Variety reports that Hiroyuki Sanada and Cosmo Jarvis will play the lead roles for the adaptation that’ll see two ambitious men come together in feudal Japan. English sailor John Blackthorne shipwrecks in Japan and meets the land’s daimyo Lord Toranaga. The only casting missing is for the mysterious female samurai Lady Mariko, whose casting may be revealed in the coming weeks.
The series was announced during Disney’s Investors conference and was confirmed to also release on Disney’s Hulu streaming service. It was described as Game of Thrones in feudal Japan, which is an interesting concept. Tim Van Patten, the producer behind Boardwalk Empire, is producing the series that will be developed by Counterpart‘s Justin Marks. His wife, Rachel Kondo, will serve as a supervising producer. Marks might be better known for his work on Disney’s live-action Jungle Book.
The series originally already entered a phase of pre-production before getting halted. With the casting underway, it seems nothing is stopping the production from heading to Japan to bring the mini-series to life. The casting is a good sign for the series’ work, as Sanada has recently been on a hot streak with his work on Army of the Dead, Mortal Kombat, Westworld, and many more. Jarvis might be familiar to fans of Raised by Wolves and Peaky Blinders but also appeared in Lady Macbeth and Calm With Horses. It’ll be interesting to see how they bring this iconic book to the small screen.
