A couple of previously announced books tying into The Mandalorian have officially been canceled. As announced by publishers DK Books and Del Rey, both an original novel set in the world of the live-action Star Wars series, as well as the The Mandalorian Ultimate Visual Guide, will no longer be published. The reasoning, as of this writing, has been left somewhat vague.
Both publishers made the announcement on social media. DK Books initially shared the news about the Ultimate Visual Guide on Twitter, with Del Rey following suit almost immediately in regards to the untitled original novel. Both books had previously been announced by Lucasfilm as part of a large publishing initiative tied to the Disney+ series. DK Books said the following.
We love working with author Adam Christopher (@ghostfinder) and are already working with him on a different book. We’re excited to share details with you in the future.
— Star Wars Books (@DelReyStarWars) March 9, 2021
“Due to the ever-expanding world of The Mandalorian, we will no longer be publishing The Mandalorian Ultimate Visual Guide at this time, as the story continues to unfold on screen.”
Lucasfilm Story Group head Pablo Hidalgo had been set to write the Ultimate Visual Guide. As for The Mandalorian original novel, Adam Christopher had been tapped for that project. Del Rey, on Twitter, made a similar statement, while explaining that they are already working with Christopher on another book. That means the book’s cancelation had nothing to do with the author. Del Rey’s statement reads as follows.
Due to the ever-expanding world of The Mandalorian, we will no longer be publishing The Mandalorian Ultimate Visual Guide at this time, as the story continues to unfold on screen.
— DK Books US (@dkpublishing) March 9, 2021
“Due to the ever-expanding world of The Mandalorian, we will no longer be publishing The Mandalorian Original Novel at this time, as the story continues to unfold on screen. We love working with author Adam Christopher and are already working with him on a different book. We’re excited to share details with you in the future.”
There is a lot of room for speculation here given some recent happenings in the Star Wars galaxy. Namely, the firing of Gina Carano as Cara Dune. The actor had been set to reprise her role in various future projects within the franchise, such as the spin-off Rangers of the New Republic. But Carano was fired over controversial statements made on social media. Officially, the cancelation of these books has nothing to do with Carano’s firing. And since little had been revealed about either title, there is no evidence to suggest that’s the case. Be that as it may, it is easy to see where onlookers might begin connecting dots.
Both statements do, however, mention the “ever-expanding world of The Mandalorian.” Disney and Lucasfilm have several shows, including The Book of Boba Fett, Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka, as well as The Mandalorian season 3, on the way. All of these shows take place in the same timeline and it means this corner of the Star Wars galaxy is only going to get bigger. It seems these projects somehow conflicted with Lucasfilm’s larger plans.
Other books connected to the show are on the way. Lucasfilm previously stated that both Marvel and IDW are set to publish comics taking place in that universe, among other yet-to-be-revealed titles. You can check out the statements from the DK Books and Star Wars Books Twitter accounts.