Some members of the outstanding ensemble cast of the critically acclaimed series Shōgun have already confirmed their next highly-anticipated projects. Shōgun’s robust cast, led by the formidable Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranaga and the breathtaking Anna Sawai as Lady Mariko, is undoubtedly one of the best aspects of the celebrated limited series, which earned a near-perfect 99% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Many viewers believe Shōgun is the greatest miniseries in recent memory, and it is already in an excellent position to be considered for the Outstanding Limited Series Award at the 2024 Emmys.

Shōgun was created by Justin Marks (The Jungle Book, Top Gun: Maverick) and Rachel Kondo, who made her professional television writing and showrunning debut with the celebrated Hulu/FX series. Shōgun is based on the popular 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell. It had already been adapted for television in 1980 by writer Eric Bercovici and director Jerry London, starring Richard Chamebrlain as John Blackthorne, Toshirô Mifune as Lord Toranaga, and Yôko Shimada as Lady Mariko. The older television adaptation was also critically acclaimed, earning 3 Emmys in 1981 including Outstanding Limited Series after being nominated in 14 categories.

Among the most notable actors in Shōgun’s robust ensemble cast are Cosmo Jarvis and Takehiro Hira, who portrayed Blackthorne and Lord Ishido, respectively. Both Jarvis and Hira each have at least three very exciting upcoming movies with some big-name film directors and movie stars. Information regarding the upcoming projects of other cast members mostly remains under wraps as of May 2024, but following the massive critical success of Shōgun, most if not all the series’ key players should be linked to highly anticipated upcoming projects soon. Shōgun is still available to stream in its entirety exclusively on Hulu and through FX video on demand.

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Cosmo Jarvis Will Star In True Crime Biopic “Alto Knights” With Robert DeNiro

Expected release date: March 21, 2025

Following his stellar performance as John Blackthorne in Shōgun, Cosmo Jarvis has several exciting movies on the horizon. The first of which is a true crime gangster biopic titled Alto Knights that is expected to released on March 21, 2025. Directed by Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson (Bugsy, Rain Man, Diner, And Justice for All), Alto Knights will be Levinson’s first feature film since 2021’s The Survivor.

Alto Knights will follow the true story of Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, two Italian Americans who were in charge of separate crime families during the 1950s. Jarvis will play Vincent Gigante, a real-life American mob boss in the Genovese family who was known as “The Chin”. Robert De Niro is set to play both Vito Genovese and Frank Costello in the film, which will also feature performances from Debra Messing and Kathrine Narducci. The screenplay for Alto Knights was written by the celebrated writer of Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995), Nicholas Pileggi.

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Takehiro Hira Will Star In Action Thriller “The Amateur” With Rami Malek

Expected release date: April 11, 2025

Like Jarvis, Takehiro Hira also has several exciting movies set to be released in the near future. Hira will play a character known as Professor in the action thriller The Amateur, which is based on the novel of the same name by bestselling author Robert Littell. The Amateur follows a CIA cryptographer named Charlie Heller, who will be played by Rami Malek, that blackmails members of his own agency in order to go after the terrorist group who killed his wife.

The action thriller will be directed by James Hawes, best known for his directorial work on television series such as Penny Dreadful, Genius, The Alienist, Black Mirror, Snowpiercer, and Slow Horses. The adapted screenplay for The Amateur was written by Evan Katz (JAG, 24), Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down, Only the Brave), and Gary Spinelli (American Made, Impulse). Apart from Academy Award winner Rami Malek in the lead role, The Amateur is also set to star Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Caitríona Balfe (Ford v. Ferrari), Holt McCallany (The Iron Claw), and Laurence Fishburne (John Wick: Chapter 4).

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Hiroyuki Sanada & Tadanobu Asano Will Team Up Again In Mortal Kombat 2

Mortal Kombat 2 is currently in post-production

Before appearing onscreen together in Shōgun as Lord Toranaga and his disloyal daimyo Yabushige, Hiroyuki Sanada and Tadanobu Asano previously worked together on the 2021 film adaptation of Mortal Kombat. Both Sanada and Asano will reprise their roles as Scorpion and Lord Raiden in Mortal Kombat 2, which does not currently have an established release date but could arrive sometime in 2025.

Mortal Kombat 2 will also feature performances by Karl Urban (The Boys) as Johnny Cage, Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Quan Chi, and many of Mortal Kombat’s original cast members. The highly anticipated sequel will be directed by Simon McQuoid, who impressively directed the 2021 movie as his feature film debut. The screenplay for Mortal Kombat 2 will be written by Jeremy Slater, creator of the celebrated Netflix series The Umbrella Academy (2019 – 2024), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), and Moon Knight (2022).

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Anna Sawai Is Poised To Make A Major Comeback In Fast & Furious 11

Sawai did not appear in Fast X after starring as Elle in F9: The Fast Saga

Anna Sawai is arguably the biggest breakout star from Shōgun, although she has previously appeared in some major franchises on both film and television. Sawai played Elle in F9: The Fast Saga but did not reprise her role in 2023’s Fast X. Sawai currently does not have any upcoming projects announced, so it could be entirely plausible that she is set to make a major return to the Fast & Furious franchise with the upcoming eleventh installment, which is set to be released on April 4, 2025.

Fast X failed to meet box office expectations due to its remarkably high budget of $340 million despite being the fifth highest-grossing film of 2023. With Sawai’s increased star power following the critical acclaim of Shōgun, she might be exactly what the faltering franchise needs to return to the enormous box office heights of Furious 7 (2015) and The Fate of the Furious (2017). It is also within the realm of possibility that Sawai will not return to the Fast & Furious franchise and take her career in a completely different direction.

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Cosmo Jarvis Will Star In Alex Garland’s Next Movie “Warfare” Alongside Will Poulter

Warfare features a robust ensemble cast of rising male actors

Alex Garland’s follow-up to his shocking and cautionary 2024 movie Civil War is aptly titled Warfare, which he is set to co-direct and co-write with first-time writer/director Ray Mendoza. Jarvis will star alongside Will Poulter (Midsommar, The Bear, We’re the Millers) in the war film, although not much else has been released about the project as of May 2024. Charles Melton (May December), Finn Bennett (True Detective: Night Country), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), and Noah Centineo (The Recruit) will also join the cast, which at face value appears to be more ingrained in military combat than Civil War ended up being.

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Takehiro Hira Will Star In Comedy “Rumours” Alongside Cate Blanchett

Production is completed on Rumours

Hira also stars in the upcoming comedy Rumours, which features performances from Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander, Charles Dance, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Denis Ménochet. Rumours is written and directed by Evan Johnson (The Green Fog), and co-directors Galen Johnson and Guy Maddin (The Forbidden Room). The film will follow the story of several leaders of seven wealthy democracies who get lost in the woods while working on diplomatic negotiations about a global crisis. The group must find their way out of the woods, which is sure to set up plenty of funny and satirical scenarios. Rumours does not have a confirmed release date but could be released before the end of 2024.

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Cosmo Jarvis Will Star In A Crime Thriller “Inside” With Guy Pearce

Inside is currently in post-production

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Jarvis will star as Mark Shepard in the upcoming crime thriller Inside written and directed by Charles Williams in his feature film debut. Inside will also star Guy Pearce (Memento, L.A. Confidential), Vincent Miller, Chloe Hayden, and Toby Wallace. The film will take place in a prison in which Jarvis and Pierce will play inmates. Jarvis will play Australia’s most hated criminal Mark Shepard, while Pearce will be the soon-to-be-released on parole inmate Warren Muffett. Mark and Warren form a parental relationship with a new inmate named Mel, played by Vincent Miller, which creates major conflict inside the prison. Inside is currently in post-production and does not yet have an official release date.

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Takehiro Hira Will Star Alongside Brandon Fraser In Hikari’s Dramedy “Rental Family”

Rental Family is currently in production

Hira is certainly keeping himself busy over the next few years with highly-anticipated projects. He will also star in Rental Family, an upcoming comedy-drama written and directed by Hikari, who is best known for her directorial work on the Max original series Tokyo Vice and the Emmy-winning Netflix limited series Beef. Academy Award winner Brandon Fraser (The Whale, the Mummy) is set to star alongside Hira in the film, which is currently in production.

Rental Family will follow a lonely, down-on-his-luck American actor living in Tokyo, who will likely be played by Fraser. Fraser’s character starts working for a Japanese “Rental Family” company and starts playing various roles in other people’s lives. The unique premise sounds like one of the most intriguing upcoming projects for Hira, and should feature a great performance from Fraser. Although the film is currently in production, there is no established release date for the project. As more time passes after the outstanding Shōgun series finale, more cast members of the celebrated series will surely be attached to star in more upcoming movies and television shows soon.