Overlord, creator of the light novel series Kugane Maruyama, may now be back to end the Overlord book series with Overlord Volume 18. The reason is that Overlord Volume 15: The Half Wood Elf God-kin has been confirmed to be split into two separate books consisting of parts 15 and 16.

In recent years, Overlord’s creator stated that he intended to wrap up the story with Overlord 17, but a recent change of plans may have caused the author to go back to his original purpose.

The story started in 2010 as a web novel, but from 2012, Kugane worked with illustrator so-bin to adapt the story to the format of the light novel. Japanese publisher Enterbrain has released Overlord Volume 14: The Witch of the Falling Kingdom on March 12, 2020.

Initially, Maruyama’s goal was to finish somewhere around Overlord Volume 20. In the past, he stated that he “has no intention of dragging the story along” despite having “50 volumes” of ideas. He just wants “readers to relax and read”, even though the author “writes with a purpose in mind”.

But by May 2016 he has tweeted that he intended to end with Overlord Volume 18. Three years later, this plan began to change.

Fast forward to April 2019 when Maruyama released a bonus book of Overlord called The Vampire Princess of the Lost Country (Bokoku no Kyuketsu-hime). The novel is a side story focused on an alternate timeline to the Ainz/Momonga story.

A month later, a Twitter user named RainyCloud Maruyama pointed out that an English translation had been uploaded to a foreign website. He asks if the author can somehow take legal action against this copyright violation.

In response, Maruyama said his motivation to write Overlord had gone down. He even suggested that he might become a corporate employee again after finishing Overlord!

Maruyama also stated that he intended to reduce the amount of story content to finish the light novel series. He claimed it would be difficult to close with Volume 16, so he decided to take it at a moderate pace and focus on Overlord Volume 17 for the end.

On August 5, 2019, the German publisher KSM Anime claimed that Maruyama confirmed at AnimagiC 2019 that ending with Overlord Volume 17 is the final plan. However, other attendees claimed that Maruyama simply said that he was losing the energy to write and that he is very tired. He would aim to complete 17 books first, as finishing even 16 volumes is exhausting.

When Overlord Volume 14 was released on March 12, 2020, the author’s notes in the book also confirmed that Maruyama still intended to end the entire series of light novels with Overlord Volume 17. last page of Volume 14Overlord Volume 15’s release date was originally slated for Spring 2021, but now it seems more likely to be released in 2022.

Fast-forward to March 2022 and the release date of Overlord: The Half Wood Elf God-kin was confirmed to be June 30, 2022. On January 4, 2022, Maruyama tweeted that the initial draft for the Overlord Volume 15 manuscript had exceeded 700 pages. As such, the book is split into parts 15 and 16.

The good news is that the wait for the Overlord Volume 16 release date should be shorter.

“Happy New Year! The draft manuscript is now over 700 pages,” explains the author. “Therefore it will be divided up and down into Volumes 15 and 16. I’m working hard to get them as close as possible I hope you can wait a little longer……I know it’s been a long time.”

What Maruyama failed to explain is how this big change in Overlord Volume 15 affected his plans for the end of the Overlord light novels. The author has not yet clarified this issue, so it is possible that Overlord Volume 18 will now contain the ending.

Even if ending with Overlord Volume 17 is still the current plan, this ending is still years in the future, as Maruyama has three more novels to complete so the author’s plans could change again in the meantime.

• Updated March 12, 2022: Overlord Volume 15 release date confirmed.

Overlord Season 4 Anime Release Date Confirmed for Summer 2022

The Overlord Season 4 release date was confirmed for 2022 by an Overlord 4 trailer released in December 2021. A second trailer released in March 2022 announced that the time frame was Summer 2022. Click on the other news item for more details.

The returning Japanese voice actors for the Overlord Season 4 cast:

• Satoshi Hino as Ains
• Yumi Hara as Albedo
• Sumire Uesaka as Shalltear
• Emiri Katou as Aura
• Yumi Uchiyama as Mareo
• Masayuki Katou as Demiurge
• Kenta Miyake as Cocytus

The announcement also confirmed that the main staff of animation studio Madhouse would return to produce Overlord Season 4.

Overlord: Holy Kingdom Movie’s Next Sequel

When the anime television series Overlord season 4 was announced, the team also confirmed that the next sequel to Overlord would be an Overlord movie that spans the storyline of the Holy Kingdom.

“The total number of episodes and how far the story will go is still a secret, but honestly it seems like I hear the screams of footsteps coming from behind,” Maruyama said. “Yes of course. But if I ignore the pressure an author feels, I’ll be genuinely glad you all enjoy the show. But really, oops…”

The Overlord movie release date has not yet been announced, but will likely be in the fall of 2022. Stay informed!