As Brandon Sanderson predicted in 2018’s State of the Sanderson update, the author dedicated most of 2019 to working on book 4 in The Stormlight Archive.
And it paid off: as Tor Books announced last week, The Stormlight Archive’s fourth volume will be released on November 17, 2020. That’s the big news from 2019’s “State of the Sanderson” update, where the author gives his readers an update on all the various projects he’s undertaken, but there’s also some news about the Mistborn series, along with a giant status update on the future of the Cosmere itself.
Read on for key tidbits!
Stormlight Archive Book 5 For 2023
With Stormlight Four nearing its wrap-up point wrapped up, Sanderson notes that “we’ll have only one more book in the first Stormlight sequence.” But it’s going to be a while before readers get Book Five in their hands. The author said he plans to begin writing Stormlight volume 5 in 2022 for a 2023 release, noting that “a three-year gap is best for my writing psychology.”
And a Stormlight Archive Picture Book For 2020?
Sanderson mentions that there are currently efforts for a picture book adaptation of “the girl who looked up” story that Shallan and Wit tell in Oathbringer. If this works out, the author says it could be released around the same time as Stormlight Book Four, in late 2020.
Mistborn: Wax and Wayne Book 4 is “Imperative” to Stormlight Book 5
The concluding volume to the “Wax and Wayne” Mistborn series has to come before Stormlight Archive Book 5. In this year’s update, Sanderson described this book as “imperative to finish before I start Stormlight Five.” This could imply that there’s a plot point in Wax and Wayne Book Four that will enrich Stormlight Five. Or Sanderson could simply not want Mistborn to law dormant for another few years. Either way, the update mentions that this will be his next project after Stormlight Archive Book Four, with a hoped-for 2021 release.
The Mistborn Film Is Getting A New Draft
In regards to film and TV adaptations for his books, Sanderson had this to say:
[I’m] Considering maybe writing the screenplay on this myself. After speaking with [producer] Dan Mintz, we decided he would focus on spearheading Stormlight, and I would focus on spearheading Mistborn. So we’ll see what I decide to do.
The Original is Coming Soon
Sanderson and co-writer Mary Robinette Kowal have finished writing this novella, which will be released “very soon” (think: 2020) as an audio original. The author described the plot thusly:
I’m a little annoyed as the Will Smith movie [Ed: Gemini Man] that came out earlier this year has a similar premise. But that movie bombed and apparently wasn’t very good. So maybe people will appreciate a similar idea done right? We’ll see. I had hoped to get this out before Mr. Smith’s movie came out, but Mary Robinette was busy winning all of the awards for her excellent Lady Astronaut series, and I was busy getting rained on in Roshar.
White Sand is Getting a Sequel
The good news is that we really enjoy doing these, and so we are planning to do another graphic novel series set on Taldain, visiting darkside and dealing with Khriss and her adventures there. So if you are one of those people who read the prose version years ago, and have been waiting for some resolution, Isaac and I are outlining a sequel series right now.
Plus, a collection of all three volumes in the first trilogy is likely.
The Updated Writing and Release Schedule for 2020 and Beyond
As always, Sanderson included a projected release schedule for the next couple of years:
- The Original audio novella: 2020
- Stormlight Four: Fall 2020
- Skyward Three: Summer(?) 2021
- Wax and Wayne Four: Fall(?) 2021
- Alcatraz 6: 2021–2022
- Dark One Graphic Novel: 2021–2022
- Skyward Four (final book): 2022
- Stormlight Five: Fall 2023
Sanderson Reveals An In-Depth Plan For The Entire Cosmere
For 2019’s update, instead of concluding with the projected release dates, Sanderson devoted the final section to looking at the past, present, and future of the Cosmere. It’s quite in-depth, so you should head over to the post itself for the author’s take, but essentially the order is:
- Stormlight Part 1
- The Next Mistborn Trilogy
- Stormlight Part 2
- The Dragonsteel Trilogy
- Aether of Night Trilogy
- The Final Mistborn Trilogy
So the journey…has really only just begun!
“I’ve begun to realize that I need to keep more of my focus on the Cosmere,” the author wrote, adding:
One of the reasons I divided it all up into separate sequences, even within the same series, is so that we’ll have endings and be able to “complete” series, rather than leaving you hanging forever, feeling like these things are going on too long. At the same time, the Cosmere is my life’s work—and from the get-go, I wanted it to be epic in every sense of the word.
I hope you are enjoying the journey, because I don’t intend to stop anytime soon.
For the current Cosmere sequence, film/TV updates, info on Alcatraz 6, Songs of the Dead (née Death for Pizza), Dark One, and lots of new original art, head on over to the complete State of the Sanderson 2019!
