The 23rd and final novel in Brian Jacques’ Redwall series will be published in September 2027, putting an end to the beloved saga after 41 years.
The late, great Jacques still has one more ace up his sleeve. Orphans of Mossflower, the very last Redwall book penned by the celebrated British author, will be released posthumously alongside the saga’s first-ever box set next year.
As spotted by a post on the official Redwall fan Wiki, the digital publishing catalog platform Edelweiss features a frontlist of forthcoming Redwall books, which includes Orphans of Mossflower. As told by the frontlist, this will be the “final book in the series.”
Nothing else about the title was shared, but it’s expected to be a direct sequel to the series’ most recent book, The Rogue Crew — which was published in 2011, a whopping 15 years ago.
Jacques died that same year at 71 after suffering a heart attack. The Rogue Crew was the only Redwall book to be published after his death, meaning that Orphans of Mossflower will be the second. It’s unclear if any additions were made to the novel by his editors, or how far along it was at the time of his death — but we suspect we’ll learn the answers to these questions when it gets closer to being released next year.
For now, theories abound as to what adventures Mossflower’s creatures will get up to in this last novel. One hypothesis points to the winner of a 2010 contest who got to create a character that would appear in a future Redwall novel. This character was initially suspected to be in The Rogue Crew, but that didn’t happen — and given that Jacques died shortly before it was published, fans are of the mind that this character might pop up in Orphans of Mossflower.
Speaking to those at the Redwall Wiki, the winner — named Olivia — said she created a haremaiden named Reisa Kartwell, explaining that “’Reisa’ comes from ‘reise,’ meaning ‘travel’ in German, and ‘Kartwell’ is derived from ‘karte,’ the German word for ‘map.’ Reisa is Salamandastron’s cartographer, and her map depicting efficient travel paths proves invaluable when the Redwallers must quickly reach Salamandastron when Redwall is under attack.”
The Rogue Crew follows Abbot Thibb, the Longpatrol hares, and the titular rogue crew of sea otters as they defend Redwall Abbey from the vicious Razzid Wearat, who wreaks havoc on his wheeled ship that can traverse both land and sea. We’ll have to see where this story picks up in the final book when it’s published a year from now.
This news follows the sad cancellation of Netflix’s Redwall series earlier this year. Fans of animal-fantasy literature need not worry, though; Erin Hunter’s Warriors book saga is getting a long-awaited animated series on Disney+, as well as a video game, the latter of which will release in October 2026.
Virginia Glaze
IGN News Editor / Cat Rescuer / Martial Arts / Fighting Game Girlie
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
