diff --git a/skimage/__init__.py b/skimage/__init__.py
index 58c25e31ed7..e9fb89abb68 100644
--- a/skimage/__init__.py
+++ b/skimage/__init__.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
 
 """
 
-__version__ = '0.21.0rc1.dev0'
+__version__ = '0.21.0rc1'
 
 from ._shared.version_requirements import ensure_python_version
 ensure_python_version((3, 8))