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Shōgun: the huge Disney hit

Already in 1980, James Clavell's novel (published in 1975), Shōgun, was the subject of a serial adaptation for NBC with the main roles: Toshirō Mifune (Akira Kurosawa's favorite actor) and Richard Chamberlain (Birds hide to die). At the time, the series was a hit. A few days ago, Disney+ launched its own version and it’s a hit.

Nearly 50 years after hitting screens around the world, the story of John Blackthorne, an English sailor stranded on the coast of Japan in the 17th century and his relationship with a feudal lord Toranaga, returns in a mini-series 10 episodes for Disney+.

This new serial version of Shōgun, James Clavell's best-seller (15 million copies sold worldwide), was designed to certainly be an event, as the version had been from the 80s with Richard Chamberlain. Certainly, Maurice Jarre does not sign the soundtrack, but the means are there and so is the cast, since for example, the role of Toranaga was entrusted to the Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada (John Wick: chapter 4, Ring, Avengers: Endgame, 47 Ronin, Army of the Dead) and that the screenplay is mainly the work of the couple Rachel Kondo/Justin Marks, already at work on Top Gun Maverick…

With already 9 million views worldwide on Hulu and Disney+ in six days (an audience record, currently the most watched fiction series in the world), Shōgun has been available on Disney+ since February 27. Three episodes are already visible, the following are broadcast weekly until Tuesday April 23.

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