With FX’s Shogun being a smash hit with TV fans, there is one superhero movie they need to watch that sees a Shogun star cutting loose.

There’s no question FX’s Shogun is going down as one of 2024’s best TV shows. In fact, it might be one of the best series of the year. This is why FX greenlit Shogun Seasons 2 and 3, despite completing James Clavell’s novel. A lot has to do with the infectious energy and charm of Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, the ruler of Edo who staved off civil war in feudal-era Japan.

As much as new audiences might now be catching up to Hiroyuki Sanada’s talents, comic book movie fans are already acquainted with his bombastic performance from The Wolverine. In the movie starring Hugh Jackman as the titular hero, Sanada showed his action chops as the sinister Shingen. It’s a movie fans should revisit if they haven’t already.

Who Did Hiroyuki Sanada Play in The Wolverine?

In The Wolverine, Hiroyuki Sanada portrayed Shingen Yashida. In the comics, Shingen was a crime lord who used the Yakuza to build his nasty empire. He ruled over the Yashida clan with an iron fist. He eventually married off his daughter, Mariko, to another mob boss, Noburu, to settle a personal debt and acquire more power. Shingen would run afoul of a wandering Wolverine in Japan. The villain used Yukio to poison, harm and trick Logan into becoming their pawn. In time, Wolverine rebelled, thanks to Mariko’s help. They fell in love and wanted to destroy this evil kingdom that sullied her ancestors’ name.

The Wolverine took a different route by having Shingen as a bitter son. His father, Ichiro, was a World War II soldier who Logan saved during the Nagasaki bombing. As the years passed, Ichiro built a technological empire, but it grew close to bankruptcy. The old, frail and dying Ichiro had Wolverine brought to him after Logan grew depressed over losing Jean Grey in X-Men: The Last Stand. Ichiro wanted Wolverine to transfer his healing power to him, making Logan mortal so the Wolverine could die and be rid of his curse: a life where he’d always lose loved ones.

Sanada’s Shingen monitored everything with an eagle’s eye. He saw Logan rebuke the deal, believing it was better for Ichiro to pass into the afterlife for his soul to be at peace. Shingen, however, had other plans, working with the corrupt Noburu to force Mariko to transfer the empire to him. It became a story of corruption and succession. Shingen didn’t care about Mariko being his blood; he just wanted the power and company Ichiro handed down to her and not him. It played more on the theme of family than in the comics, with an industrialist and business twist. But seeing as Wolverine was already falling for Mariko, Shingen made a very devious enemy along the way.

Did Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shingen Die in The Wolverine?

The Wolverine was a bit convoluted, but it definitely did feel like a comic book come to life. So much so, many believe it was harshly critiqued. A lot has to do with the intricate twists and how unpredictable things got for Logan, giving him many mental hurdles. Shingen was working with Madame Viper and Harada, who was the Silver Samurai in the source material. They wanted to extract Logan’s healing ability by using a robotic Silver Samarui suit. Harada would flip on Viper, but he was killed. Logan got extra help from Ichiro’s aide, Yukio. Wolverine ended up fighting Shingen in one of the Fox movies’ best fight scenes.

This allowed Sanada to flex his muscles with a pair of katanas. Viewers already knew how deft he was with a sword in 2003’s The Last Samurai. 2013 also put him on display in 47 Ronin. But none of these movies had Sanada cutting loose. In the dark of night, his Shingen and Logan cut each other apart at the Yashida residence. Wolverine left him bruised but alive, thinking living with how he tried a coup would be his penance. After all, trying to murder one’s daughter is something someone would punish themselves for.

Shingen, however, charged in and impaled Wolverine with his blades. To his detriment, it just brought him into close range for a Logan whose regenerative factor was operating in full again. Logan stabbed Shingen and left him bleeding out. When he died asking what kind of monster Logan was, the X-Man replied he was “the Wolverine!” It remains one of the most iconic moments Hugh Jackman has ever had. And it’s something fans are hoping to see and hear more of in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Once Shingen perished, Wolverine worked with Yukio and Mariko to murder the Silver Samurai, revealed to be Ichiro in disguise. He was the real master manipulator, faking his death and starting a family war, all so that he could bait Logan in and suck his powers dry. This shocking ending informed where Shingen got his cold, cruel edge from. Ichiro had no problem using his kin as a trap, which is why no one mourned when Logan killed him by dropping him off a cliff. He was just as vile as his son. It brought Shingen’s journey full-circle and showed Mariko she came from a legacy of monsters and toxic men.

Could Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shingen Return to Fight Wolverine in the MCU?

It’s no surprise that fans want more of Jackman’s Wolverine after the Deadpool team-up. Notably, superhero movie and TV enthusiasts have been more forgiving of the bad movies of old. A lot has to do with nostalgia, which is why fans were elated to see Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield appear as Spider-Man in the MCU again. There is no telling how Logan will fit into the MCU and the Multiverse thereafter. But if he needs villains, Shingen is someone that Disney would be smart to use.

Disney already has a relationship with Sanada as FX is a Disney subsidiary. In fact, Shogun is an exclusive Disney+ show in some markets. Thus, Disney knows the strength of Sanada’s brand and how much the media has loved covering him in the last few months. With many realities out there and Logan probably due to fit into the Earth-616 main reality with the other mutants, there could be a Shingen variant around. Shingen did wear a vibranium armor to take down Logan in the comics, plus his illegitimate son, Kenuichio Harada, had a son of his own named Shingen. That Shingen became a Silver Samurai in 2012, using nanotech a la Iron Man.

He even joined the Hellfire Academy and dated Amiko Kobayashi, the foster daughter of Wolverine. Thus, the MCU can bring Shingen back as a father to a Silver Samurai, or even retcon things to have Sanada’s character donning the armor himself. Fans did think that he was the better villain and gave Logan the more engaging battle in The Wolverine. Thus, Sanada, as the Silver Samurai, would pay off his many roles as a samurai. Warner Bros. already has Sanada returning as Scorpion in Mortal Kombat 2, so the actor’s popularity will keep rising. If Disney is wise, Marvel Studios should capitalize on the untapped potential that is still there with Shingen.

No one would bat an eye that he played a yakuza boss — Akihiko — briefly and got killed by Hawkeye in Avengers: Endgame. No matter what, Shingen is a fan-favorite character. To top it off, Sanada loves telling authentic Japanese stories, so a future duel could even dive into the culture of rural Japan and change the backdrop. It would freshen the setting up in a genuine manner and character portraits rather than just rollicking action sequences. Most of all, it would enable audiences to see Jackman and Sanada — as seasoned veteran warriors — squaring off one last time.