In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo attempts to sail through murky waters when discussing “Shogun.” The FX/Hulu series is based on the beloved book of the same name and is set in 17th-century Japan. It follows multiple characters in a struggle for power and freedom after a British vessel is found stranded in a small fishing village, leading to political unrest and potential war. The show stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, and more.
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Joining Bingeworthy to discuss the gorgeous and immersive ten-episode miniseries is actor Hiroyuki Sanada (“John Wick 4,” “Mortal Kombat”), one of the stars and producers, along with showrunners Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo. During the chat, Kondo and Marks discussed why they felt the beloved novel and miniseries needed a modern reimagining.
“There have been so many movies, television shows, stories in a variety of different genres, period pieces, Western science fiction, and whatever it is that have been taken from ‘Shogun’ over the years,” Marks said. “[Author] James Clavell himself was asking these questions about, ‘how do we encounter other cultures?’ How do we encounter ourselves within these cultures?’ And it was actually remarkably modern and worth telling because of the places he took these characters, which were very unexpected. So, we felt like it was worth bringing back.”
Star and legendary Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada actually boarded the project many years ago. He came to it not from a fondness for the source material like Marks and Kondo but from an admiration for the real historical figures on which the story is based.
“When I got the offer for the Toranaga role, maybe seven or eight years ago, I thought about why I should play this role now. Then I thought about the model of Toranaga, the real Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. He’s a hero because he stopped the war period and then created the peaceful era for about 260 years until we opened the country to the world,” Sanada shared. “That’s why he became a hero. And I thought, especially for now, we need that kind of hero. So that was the biggest motivation to take this role. And the story itself —telling that too. It’s a great message to the world.”
But deciding to do the show was one thing; actually, writing it turned into a beast all unto itself due to the language translation requirements needed to portray a faithful and accurate version of 17th-century Japan. 
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“We don’t speak Japanese,” Marks said. “We wrote this show as a writer’s room in English, sent it away to be translated into Japanese, then found when working with our producer and star, Hiroyuki Sanada, and our producer, Eriko Miyagawa, that was only the first step because that Japanese that it had been translated to is simply sort of a matter of fact translation. It’s not a performed Japanese. It’s not a period Japanese, with a hint of modern flair that actors could take and wrap their arms around and then be able to act. So we had to send it to a Japanese playwright who specialized in Jidaigeki who would take that dialogue and kind of add the poetry, if you will, within Japanese.”
During the interview, Hiroyuki Sanada, always busy working, also confirmed his return to the highly anticipated sequel to “Mortal Kombat” as fan-favorite character Scorpion.
“Yeah, I already finished shooting ‘Mortal Kombat 2,’” Sanada said. “This time, most of the characters from the first one came back, plus there were a few big new roles. So, yeah, I can’t wait to see that. [‘Mortal Kombat’] was a good experience—the beginning with the historical costumes and dialogue. And at the end [becoming] a future figure, coming up suddenly speaking English. It was a fun experience —In one movie, you could show both sides. So I could use all of my experience in the film.”
Justin Marks also has a “story by” credit on the massive hit, “Top Gun: Maverick.” When asked what he thought about seeing the movie do as well as it did, Marks was happy to share the glory while also acknowledging his rather small role in the finished film.
“In that case, [I was] a guest for two and a half years on that film, but what’s craziest is we were up in Vancouver shooting ‘Shogun’ when ‘Top Gun Maverick’ premiered. I think I was a full 11 years older than when I actually worked on that movie,” Marks said. “It’s just crazy, and obviously, I still speak with the producers and the various filmmakers and also the other writers who came before and after me. So it was kind of a wild and, yes, satisfying thing to see how the movie came out.”
“I mean, because it was really shepherded by a lot of people after me from filmmakers to writers, but to have my little small piece of it, it’s fun to see those little things,” he continued. “It kind of feels like you have a child, and you raised it for a couple of years, and suddenly it’s knocking on your door after it came back from college, and here it is. And so I’m a little proud of those things, but I’m also proud of the other parents who were part of it, too.”
“Shogun” is streaming new episodes on Tuesdays through April only on FX and Hulu. Listen to the full interview with Justin Marks, Rachel Kondo, and Hiroyuki Sanada.
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