The cast of critically-acclaimed samurai drama Shōgun have weighed in on the comparisons with Game of Thrones.
As the first two episodes of Shōgun premiere today (February 27) on Disney+, stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis and Anna Sawai sat down with Digital Spy to discuss the show's success and how it is a different beast from GoT.
"We tried to make everything original. I didn't think much of that," Sanada, who appeared in John Wick: Chapter 4, said of the comparisons.
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Meanwhile, Jarvis admitted to never watching the HBO show.
"I've never seen Game of Thrones. It just felt like we were making Shōgun and making it as good as it could be," he said.
An adaptation of James Clavell's 1975 novel of the same name, the limited series follows Sanada's powerful Lord Yoshii Toranaga, Jarvis's English sailor John Blackthorne and Sawai's mysterious samurai Toda Mariko against the backdrop of a feudal civil war in 1600's Japan.
While the intricate plot of vengeance, deceit and betrayal could bring to mind the multiple twists of Game of Thrones, the cast were adamant they weren't trying to recreate that dynamic.
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"Because that show… it's just of its own, it's so special, so it's an honour to be mentioned, side by side. But personally, I feel like we're trying to do our own thing," Anna Sawai, who plays samurai Toda Mariko, said.
"This is an original adaptation and we're not trying to recreate or do something similar to that.
"It just happens that it gives the same impression to some people. I hope that when people see it, maybe there is a resemblance, but if this can be its own genre, in a way, then that would be epic."
The first two episodes of Shōgun are now available to watch on Disney+, with new episodes dropping every week.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
