Shogun: Hiroyuki Sanada opens up about the epic historical series' "secret weapon"

by | February 25, 2024, 16:33 IST

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Shogun: Hiroyuki Sanada opens up about the epic historical series' secret weapon
Shogun, a historical epic miniseries set in 17th century Japan is set to release in a matter of days. The show based on James Clavell's novel of the same name, has a star-studded cast including Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawaii and more. It revolves around a shipwrecked English sailor John Blackthorne, powerful daimyo Lord Yoshii Toranaga and a female samurai as their paths get entangled against the backdrop of political turmoil. Some are calling the series a Game of Thrones-level spectacle while others are lauding the lead cast's performances. 

During a press conference attended by Filmfare, the show's team opened up about the show's making. Hiroyuki Sanada, best known for his roles in Mortal Kombat and John Wick 4, opened up about serving as a producer on the show. He said, "I thought this is a great story to introduce our culture to the world so I tried to make it as authentic as possible as a producer. Luckily, we hired Japanese samurai period drama specialists for each department. I believe it's going to be a big step for me, Japanese filmmakers and actors." 

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"We don't have any secret weapon but I believe our teamwork was the most important - East meets West. It's a dream project," he added.  

Shogun Shogun Shogun

Further elaborating on why he wanted to take on the role, he shared, "Why did I want to take this role? I thought about the meaning behind it, the moral of Yoshii Toranaga or Tokugawa Ieyasu's story. His great achievement should be introduced to the rest of the world. Now, we're facing so many wars and struggles. Humans don't seem to change but he had changed things. He had created a very peaceful world for many hundreds of years. That's the type of hero we need today. And that is the thought behind taking this role. That was really the driving force."

Shogun is all set to release on February 28, 2024 on OTT.