Intense drama and thrilling battles await viewers who became hooked on samurai stories through Shogun.

Updated 3 minutes ago, January 9, 2025

Shogun was one of the most exciting shows of 2024, a claim bolstered by the fact that it has already won the Golden Globe and the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Drama Series.

A second season is currently in development, but while we anxiously await an announcement of a release date for season 2, we all need something else to watch. So, collected here is a small sample of some of the best samurai films ever made, specifically curated for fans of Shogun who are looking for a similar degree of drama, political intrigue, and action.

Starring Hiroyuki Sanada (Shogun‘s Lord Toranaga), The Twilight Samurai follows Seibei Igushi, a low-ranking samurai who struggles with day-to-day life as the era of his warrior class is ending. There is some action to be seen here, but it’s the beautifully orchestrated drama that makes The Twilight Samurai resonate so emotionally with audiences.

This might be a controversial pick for some, and it is the only American-made film on this list, but with its Westerner lead in Tom Cruise, The Last Samurai might be the perfect movie for fans of Shogun who are just beginning their journey into samurai films. Sure, it’s a very Westernized and romanticized depiction of Japan during the 1870s, but the story is gripping, the action is exciting, and, according to co-star Ken Watanabe, it helped change the way the Western film industry views movies like this. “After [The Last Samurai] came out,” says Watanabe in an interview with The Guardian, “Hollywood tried to be more authentic when it came to Asian stories.”