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‘Shogun’ Star Takehiro Hira Teases Season 2: ‘My Days Are Numbered’

‘Shogun’ Star Takehiro Hira Teases Season 2: ‘My Days Are Numbered’

By Kevin Harson

Lifestyle

“Shogun” star Takehiro Hira says he’s only seen one script for Season 2. Even so, he thinks he knows the fate of his character, Ishido Kazunari.

“I can’t really talk about that, but you know, the older characters in ‘Shogun’ loosely follow the actual historical figures. So my guy doesn’t really survive much after the big war, the battle. So my days are numbered,” Hira told me Wednesday night at the premiere of his new Searchlight Pictures dramedy “Rental Family” at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles.

“I will probably have an honorable death,” he said, before teasing, “But I could come back as a…”

Hira was nominated for an Emmy last year for his work on the show in the best supporting actor in a drama series category.

At almost the same exact time as the “Rental Family” premiere carpet opened, FX announced that Season 2 will begin production in January. New additions to the cast include Asami Mizukawa as Aya, Masataka Kubota as Hyūga, Sho Kaneta as Hidenobu, Takaaki Enoki as Lord Ito and Jun Kunimura as Gōda.

Returning stars include returning stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Cosmo Jarvis, as well as Fumi Nikaidô, Shinnosuke Abe, Hiroto Kanai, Yoriko Dôguchi, Tommy Bastow, Yuko Miyamoto, Eita Okuno and Yuka Kouri.

Season 1 directors Hiromi Kamata (Season 1, Episode 6 “Ladies of the Willow World”) and Takeshi Fukunaga (Season 1, Episode 7, “A Stick of Time”) return to direct on the second season. Anthony Byrne, Kate Herron and series co-creator Justin Marks will also direct episodes in Season 2.

According to an official logline, “Shogun” Season 2 “is set ten years after the events of the first season.

Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Gorman, Brendan Fraser, Akira Emoto and Takehiro Hira at the “Rental Family” Los Angeles premiere held at the DGA Theater on November 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by River Callaway/Variety)

“Rental Family” stars Brendan Frazer as an actor living in Japan who finds a job at a rental family agency – headed by Hira’s character – assigning him to play various stand-in roles for clients. Hikari directed from a script she co-wrote with Stephen Blahut. Rounding out the cast are Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman and Akira Emoto.

“Rental Family” is in theaters Nov. 21.

Originally published by variety.com. Syndicated material does not necessarily reflect the views of Grazia British.

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