'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Art Book Has Been Delayed Until Spring 2020, Presumably To Avoid Spoiler Leaks

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters in just a few days, and while some fans were expecting to be able to watch the movie and then quickly dig into a new "art of" book similar to the ones that have accompanied the other entries in the Disney-era Skywalker saga, The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has now been delayed until spring 2020. At least we can assume this thing is chock full of spoilers, right?

Just wanted to let everyone know that yes, The Art of #StarWars: #TheRiseOfSkywalker will now release in spring of 2020, March 31 to be precise. Apologies for any inconveniences this may cause but I'm excited to share the amazing design work behind this equally amazing film! pic.twitter.com/avwS1OGoMu

— Phil Szostak (@PhilSzostak) December 11, 2019

Author Phil Szostak's previous books – The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Art of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and The Art of Solo: A Star Wars Story – were all released on the same respective days as the films they were chronicling. That won't be the case with The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker because the publisher, Abrams Books, issued a statement confirming the delay (via ScreenRant):

"The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will now release in Spring 2020. We apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to sharing this collection of stunning concept art from the film in the new year."

This whole thing should sound familiar to Star Wars fans, because we just went through a similar cycle with Baby Yoda merchandise. The Mandalorian creator/showrunner Jon Favreau didn't want that character to be spoiled, and Disney respected that enough to hold back on producing official merchandise ahead of time because those things have to go through so many hands so early in advance that they're often spoiled well in advance. With that in mind, I think it's safe to assume that there are some big revelations in this book, likely having to do with Rey's parentage, Palpatine's involvement in the plot, and more big things that Disney would never want disseminated in an officially sanctioned book before people have the chance to see the movie for themselves.

The Disney ownership has been notorious for keeping a tight lid on behind-the-scenes problems in an official capacity, and these art books are often the only insights we have into the creative process which give even a remote hint at some of the possible alternate outcomes for these movies. Fingers crossed we'll get a huge tell-all book in 10 years, but in the meantime, I look forward to checking out The Art of The Rise of Skywalker when it hits shelves in March.