What’s going on with Red Rising Book 6? Will the Red Rising TV show ever happen?  In an effort to keep all the updates straight, here’s a helpful guide for what’s ahead for Pierce Brown’s series. I’ll keep it updated as new information comes in… 

This article has been updated in May 2023.

Light Bringer (Red Rising Book 6)

Due out: July 25, 2023

For a while, it seemed like Red Rising Book 6 might be the final book in the new set of novels that followed the original Red Rising trilogy. However, Pierce Brown cleared that up in 2022 when he shared that Books 6 and 7 of the Red Rising series were coming. Though the original release date for Light Bringer was set for May of this year, the current date for Light Bringer‘s release is set for July 25, 2023. The new date was announced in November, along with a look at the cover, which shows a golden Pegasus on the move. 

As far as what we know about the length of the book, Penguin Random House’s official listing for the book currently says 704, but it’s possible that number will change (I’m not sure how long that number has been listed on the book’s page.)

Light Bringer is available for pre-order at many of the major book chains — and possibly also your favorite local book store. Barnes & Noble has their own B&N Exclusive edition available for pre-order, which will include a fold-out poster featuring Darrow. Pierce Brown shared a glimpse of the poster on his Instagram. 

It also looks like Part 1 of the book will be titled “Circus,” based on the Instagram post Pierce Brown shared, along with a quote from Homer. 

Light Bringer (Audiobook)

Though the hardcover and ebook versions of Light Bringer have been available for pre-order for quite some time, it was only recently (around April 2023) that I saw the audiobook become available for pre-order on Audible. Audible currently has it listed as just over thirteen hours, which doesn’t seem to line up with the listed page number, assuming that’s accurate. (May 2023 update: In response to someone asking him on Twitter how many pages the book is, Pierce Brown responded, “close to Dark Age length,” so I’m even more skeptical that the audiobook length listed on Audible is accurate — the Dark Age audiobook on Audible is nearly 34 hours. I’ll update here if/when there’s more information).

The Light Bringer Audible listing also currently shows Tim Gerard Reynolds as the narrator, which is good news if it confirms the original narrator of the first three books — plus the co-narrator of Iron Gold and Dark Age — is returning. However, no additional narrators are mentioned — yet, anyway? Again, this could be another indication that the listing is not entirely finalized — or it could be an indication that Light Bringer will be told entirely from Darrow’s point of view. We’ll have to wait and see.

In short, when it comes to the specifics of both the book length and POV, we’ll have to wait and see what updates there are and if either are confirmed as the release date approaches. In the meantime, those of us who are excited to get the audiobook can now pre-order it.

Red God (Red Rising Book 7)

Due out: TBD

We don’t know much about Red God, apart from the fact that it’s expected to arrive at some point following the release of Light Bringer. As mentioned in the section about Light Bringer‘s release, Book 7 was announced in 2022. It’s exciting to know that there will be even more to look forward to after we finish Light Bringer. 

The Red Rising TV Show

Red Rising was originally set to be a movie from Universal, however it’s since been moved to the small screen and is currently in the development stage. Making a TV show can be a complicated process, and a long one depending on where it’s hoping to land. So it’s no surprise that substantial updates have been few and far between.

We don’t yet know exactly where the Red Rising TV series may end up, but Brown has said it’ll be a streaming service (Eg. Amazon, Apple, etc.) and that he’s working with a director to get it off the ground. During his Dark Age book tour (August 2019) he told fans that he’s hoping for a hard-R, 10-episode season, and that he’s hopeful to have an update on the status of the show sometime within the next couple of months. Beyond that, we’re still waiting for word on who’s lined up to be its showrunner. And of course, we’re anticipating the inevitable casting frenzy that will surely ensue if/when this project moves forward.

Pierce Brown said he was hoping to have an update on the Red Rising TV show sometime by the end of October 2019. On October 31, Pierce Brown checked in on Twitter to say that the update had been delayed. There has been no update since.

As of April 2023, I haven’t seen any major updates on the status of the Red Rising TV show, but here’s hoping we’ll hear some news about it in the near future.

Recently Released

Sons of Ares: Volume 3: Forbidden Song

The graphic novel series Sons of Ares recently released its final installment with Sons of Ares Volume 3 arriving in hardcover earlier in 2023. Described by Dynamite as the third and final book in the graphic novel series, and one part Ocean’s 11, one part Les Miserables, Sons of Ares Vol. 3 continues the story Ares’ earlier years, and is penned by Pierce Brown and Rik Hoskin. Kewbar Baal is credited for the illustrations this time around. 

Graphic Audio’s Red Rising audio adaptation (Part 1)

If you’re a fan of audiobooks but looking for something with a full cast, music and sound effects, you might want to check out Graphic Audio. They’ve produced audio adaptations of the first two Sons of Ares volumes, and more recently, Graphic Audio released Part 1 of a Red Rising audio adaptation, with Part 2 of the first book on the way. You can also find the released dramatized adaptations available on Audible.