Shōgun saga is set to continue for two more seasons after the universally acclaimed first season was a huge success for FX. However, the Emmy-nominated lead actress of the series is unsure about her return to the series. Anna Sawai, who played Toda Mariko, shared that while she was excited for a return, she felt that her arc ended perfectly in the first season.
Shōgun explored the story centered around two ambitious men — one Western sailor/mercenary who ends up shipwrecked in Japan and another Lord Toranaga, a powerful daimyō who sets out to become shōgun by defeating his political rivals. The roles were played by Cosmo Jarvis and Hiroyuki Sanada respectively.
Anna Sawai’s Response Is Exactly Why Fans Are Concerned For Shōgun Seasons 2 & 3
Shōgun, created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, currently has a 99% Tomatometer score and 91% Popcornmeter score after its first season. Despite exhausting its source material, the 1975 novel by James Clavell, the series was recently greenlit for not only a second but also a third season (via DiscussingFilm | X).
Hiroyuki Sanada and Cosmo Jarvis are likely to return for the next two seasons, however, female lead Anna Sawai is not so sure about that. Speaking to The Direct during a recent interview, Sawai shared that she was willing to return to her role as Mariko. She shared that it was an honor to be called back to the role as she loved the show and the creators.
However, she presented one of the pressing issues that fans have been pointing out about Seasons 2 & 3. Sawai felt that her character had the perfect ending in the first season. For that reason, she shared that she was not expecting anything out of the coming seasons for her character. Sawai shared with The Direct:
I don’t know. I mean, I love the show. I love the creators. So it would be a dream if they ever called me back. But you know, like her story does end. I think it’s perfect the way it is. So, I’m not expecting anything.
In the penultimate episode of Shōgun Season 1, Anna Sawai’s Mariko sacrifices herself to defy Ishido in her final act of loyalty towards Toranaga. If Sawai were to return to the second or third seasons, she could appear in flashback sequences or in the memory of Jarvis’ Blackthorne, who professed his love to her before her death.
Why Are Fans Against Further Seasons of Shōgun?
One of the major factors behind the success of Shōgun was the tight adaptation of James Clavell’s novel. However, moving into a second and third season, the creators don’t have such a strong roadmap to follow. The same was addressed by Justin Marks when he spoke about a potential second season a few months back. He shared with The Hollywood Reporter:
I don’t know. I think if we had a story, if we could find a story, we would be open to it. But I don’t think that anyone ever wants to be out over their skis without a roadmap and everything. And it’s also just about, do people want more of it?
He further shared that it might not be possible to equal what James Clavell had originally created. If the creators themselves are in doubt, why did FX greenlight the second and third seasons? Fans believe that it has got to do with all the Game of Thrones comparisons online. Some reports on the FX show shared that it was a far better historical drama series than the George R.R. Martin epic.
However, these reports overlooked the fact that Shōgun is not your typical complex historical drama. It didn’t take fans days to learn the names of all the characters just to keep up with the story. Neither was the story filled with themes that needed further digging and analysis on online forums. It was as simple as historical dramas come, which might be the exact reason why fans loved it so much.
Shōgun Season 1 is now available for streaming on Hulu.
