What’s Next for Brandon Sanderson? 6 Major Projects Coming After ‘Blightfall’

As though keeping up with Brandon Sanderson’s prolific output wasn’t difficult enough, things are about to become considerably more complicated with a number of projects on the way. It kicks off with the September 1 publication of his and Janci Patterson’s Blightfall, the start of a new trilogy set in the Skyward universe. But that’s only the beginning.

Over the next couple of years, new novels will be arriving, The Stormlight Archive will expand beyond the printed page and into gaming, Mistborn enters a new era and, probably most important of all, Sanderson’s Cosmere is making the leap to film. 

Some projects are considerably further along than others, which is why we’re sticking with the ones that have actually been announced and are actively moving forward. All told, here’s what’s next for the author. 

‘The Fires of December’ — December 2026

Readers won’t have to wait long for Sanderson’s next novel following Blightfall, withThe Fires of December scheduled for publication this December from Tor in the U.S. and Canada, following a premium edition offered through Sanderson’s 2026 crowdfunding campaign.

The standalone Cosmere novel originated as one of Sanderson’s infamous “secret projects” and follows December, a young woman living in a world where people are assigned a magical talent at birth. December, however, seemingly has none, which sends her on a journey to discover what happened to her ability—and into a much larger adventure. Sanderson has been particularly enthusiastic about the novel, describing it as one of the strongest books he’s written.

BRANDON SANDERSON: “Well, I really enjoyed writing Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and I thought, ‘There are more terrible things that have happened to Hoid in the Cosmere.’ So this is now a series. This is the ‘Stories of Hoid’s Travails,’ in which terrible things happen to Hoid, and he tells you a story about it.”

“Where did this book come from? This book is one of those books that I was not planning to write. I actually wrote this at the end of last year. So I was working on the outlines for Ghostbloods, I was getting primed for writing Ghostbloods, I was finishing up some various things, and the book kind of came to me. I don’t like to speak mystically about books; that’s not how I am. But this is one of those ones where I’m, like, ‘I’m supposed to write this book. I need to write this book. I have to write this book. I’m going to ignore my family during the holidays and write this book.’ (They’re used to it.) And it turned out very special. I’m very excited to share it with you.” (Arcanum)

‘Riftwake’ Book 2 — Summer 2027

Instead of being a standalone adventure, Blightfall represents the beginning of the Riftwake trilogy, which continues the story of the Skyward universe following the conclusion of Defiant. The second book is scheduled for summer 2027, and work on the concluding chapter is already in the works. Earlier this year, Sanderson reported that Patterson was finishing revisions on Book 2 while beginning the third installment. As of August 2026, Sanderson’s official progress tracker lists Riftwake Book 3 at 57 percent complete.

Which, of course, is encouraging to readers jumping aboard with Blightfall without worrying about long gaps between volumes (we’re looking at you, George R.R. Martin!). 

BRANDON SANDERSON: “I’ve read the second one and have the outline for the third and final one in hand! These are turning out great and I think you Skyward fans are going to love them.”

‘Stormlight: Tidebreakers’ — October 2027

Sanderson’s novels aren’t the only way fans will be able to explore the Cosmere, with next October marking the arrival of Stormlight: Tidebreakers, the next adventure for the Stormlight Campaign Setting in the Cosmere RPG.

BROTHERWISE GAMES: “Tidebreakers is the next campaign-length adventure for levels 10-1 in the Stormlight Campaign Setting! Players get to partake in naval and jungle warfare in the Reshi Isles during the events of Oathbringer, Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth.” 

That means Tidebreakers isn’t moving the chronology beyond the novels so much as allowing players to explore another part of Roshar while those familiar events are unfolding. Brotherwise Games currently expects the adventure to reach retail in October 2027, following additional playtesting.

The ‘Mistborn’ Movie

This is the project Sanderson readers have been waiting years to see actually happen. Apple has acquired rights to Sanderson’s Cosmere for screen adaptations, with Mistborn being developed as a feature film. Even more importantly insofar as fans are concerned, Sanderson himself is writing the screenplay. And there’s been tangible progress in that on July 28 he announced that he’d completed the first draft of the script, appropriately enough during the 20th anniversary year of the original novel’s publication.

There is still no announced director, cast, production date or release date, and Sanderson himself has cautioned fans that completing a screenplay is only an early step in a lengthy process. But after years of prospective adaptations that never reached the screen, an Apple deal and a completed first draft make this iteration of Mistborn considerably more concrete.

‘The Stormlight Archive’ TV Series

Apple’s Cosmere plans aren’t limited to Mistborn. While that series is being eyed for feature films, The Stormlight Archive is being developed for television. And it’s easy to understand why the two properties might require different approaches. The enormous Stormlight novels, beginning with The Way of Kings, contain sprawling casts of characters, multiple storylines and a world whose history and mythology unfold across thousands of pages. Television potentially gives the adaptation considerably more room to tell that story.

“Development” is probably the most important word regarding the project at the moment. To that point, there is no announced cast, premiere date or production schedule. But after years of Sanderson discussing Hollywood possibilities that repeatedly failed to materialize, Mistborn and Stormlight now have a home—and Sanderson is directly involved in the process.

BRANDON SANDERSON: “Basically, everybody tried to bid on Mistborn and Stormlight, and I ended up picking Apple. Part of it was the amount of control that Apple was willing to offer. But it’s less about control and more about the partnership and the partnership felt right with Apple. Everyone tells me to do it as a TV show, but I still feel like I can make it work as a feature film.”

‘Mistborn: Ghostbloods’ — Beginning December 2028

And then comes the return to Mistborn on the page. Sanderson is currently writing Mistborn: Ghostbloods, the third major era of the series. His current plan calls for three novels released in consecutive Decembers: Book 1 in 2028, Book 2 in 2029 and Book 3 in 2030, with him describing 2028 as a “pretty firm” date for the first installment.

Rather than simply picking up where the previous books ended, Ghostbloods moves the world of Scadrial forward again, this time into a technological period roughly analogous to our own 1980s and early computer age. It’s an approach that has always distinguished Mistborn: readers aren’t merely following different generations of characters, but watching an entire fantasy civilization change over time.

And there’s already considerable work put into the first book. Sanderson reported at the end of 2025 that the initial installment was mostly written, while his current progress tracker shows him working on its second draft.

Bearing all of this in mind, for Brandon Sanderson fans the question isn’t whether something new is coming, but, instead, deciding which world to visit next. 

BRANDON SANDERSON: “I realized I had never seen a fantasy series where the foundations of religion and government are laid in an epic fantasy, and then you jump forward in time to see the science fiction version of that world. And I thought it would be incredibly fun to add a cyberpunk, 1980s version of Scadrial in the midst. That’s where Ghostbloods was born.”