Earlier this summer, the first wave of The Mandalorian books were teased by Lucasfilm and Del Rey Books. On top of the anticipated The Art of The Mandalorian (Season One) coming in December, there was also supposed to be an original novel arriving around the same time. Unfortunately, fans will be waiting much longer to read that story, because it’s been pushed back to the fall of 2021.

Here’s the update from Del Rey Books about The Mandalorian novel delayed to late next year:

Quick scheduling update, friends! Del Rey’s Mandalorian novel will be moving to fall 2021. As soon as we have a final date, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, we have some amazing Star Wars novels coming soon that should help tide us all over!

— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) July 31, 2020

No reason was given for the delay. It could have to do with manufacturing delays due to the current landscape brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, or maybe Lucasfilm is looking to spread out the rest of their media over a longer period after the recent delay of any upcoming Star Wars movies. There’s also the possibility that the story needs to be reworked based on ideas for what happens in The Mandalorian after the second season. After all, we’ve heard that series creator Jon Favreau doesn’t want a lot of other media expanding the world of The Mandalorian and potentially complicating the canon of the series.

As of now, we don’t know much of anything about The Mandalorian novel. Adam Christopher is writing it, and the book won’t just be an adaptation of the first or second season. Beyond that, we’re completely in the dark.

For all you Star Wars fans who need your original novel fix, there are plenty more opportunities coming this year. Next week brings Poe Dameron: Free Fall by Alex Segura on August 4, and Chaos Rising begins the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy by Timothy Zahn on September 1. Otherwise, the big Star Wars publishing initiative known as The High Republic has been pushed back to January 2021, so next year will be when the new era of Star Wars books really kicks off.

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