More seasons of Shogūn are coming, regardless of whether you think that’s a good idea. FX’s historical epic was a hit in 2024, and though it was touted as a limited series, the studio quickly saw fit to renew the show for a second and third season. That’s despite the fact that Shogūn’s source material, James Clavell’s 1975 novel, doesn’t have much more to give.Co-creators and showrunners Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo have teamed up with Clavell’s estate to continue the tale of Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), but they’ll need a major time jump to do so. Shogūn Season 2 will reportedly take place 10 years after the Season 1 finale, and it’s set to be bigger and more intense, featuring the big battle sequences that were wisely left out in its predecessor. The scale of this new season might justify the time jump, and according to Marks, Season 2 will take some time to get off the ground. “It’s not coming out one year later,” the producer told Variety. In fact, there’s no telling when Shogūn will return. It could be two years — which has become the standard for high-profile streaming shows — or even longer. Per Marks, fast-forwarding into the future will allow the series to come back in its own time. “There’s this thing that drives me crazy when you watch a show that ended three years ago, and you get into season two and it’s like five minutes later,” he said.Where will Toranaga find himself in 10 years? | FXThis time jump could also justify the need for another season at all, as Shogūn could be an entirely different show in Season 2. “We’re trying to use this jump as a way to come back to our characters again for the very first time, to see them, to see what’s changed in their lives over the course of the last 10 years, and to rediscover them,” Marks told Variety. Marks added that the new season will pivot to focus on new themes. “Like the first season, I think part two is a really sweeping, beautiful and you’re never going to see it coming, entirely unexpected love story,” he said. “It’s also a story of war and the cost of war. There are battle sequences that we’re putting together now in part two. I don’t think you’ve ever seen anything like this kind of scale, this kind of tragedy and this kind of humanity.”Several fan favorites won’t be returning for Season 2, but the Shogūn team is assembling a cast of fresh faces to join Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, and other alums. It will be interesting to see how this new cast fits into the tapestry of Shogūn, and how much we’ll see of Sanada’s leading man. When we last saw him in Season 1, he was gearing up to launch his coup against Ishido Kazunari (Takehiro Hira, who isn’t listed among the cast members returning) and become the ruler of Japan. Season 2 could skip over that story entirely, and might even reintroduce Toranaga as the nation’s shogūn. A new scope will allow the show to go anywhere, making what seemed like a misguided choice more interesting.Shogūn is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.