Regina Hall (
Honk For Jesus,
Scary Movie,
Girls Trip), Sherry Cola (
Nobody Wants This,
Shrinking), Arturo Castro (
Tron: Ares,
Matchbox), George Lopez (
Lopez vs Lopez,
The Underdoggs) and rapper Ice Spice have joined the voice cast for upcoming animated feature
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants!
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| Nickelodeon |
Four-time Grammy multi-platinum selling rapper Isis “Ice Spice” will also contribute a song to the movie.
The rapper reacted to the news on her
Instagram Story, writing, “yay!!!” to express her excitement. It serves as a full circle moment for Spice, who dropped off the single “Bikini Bottom” back in 2022. The track appeared on her debut EP Like…?, which reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200.
Ramsey Naito, President of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation, announced the new voice cast members during a presentation at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on Tuesday, June 10.
Naito said that the studios had a busy six months ahead with the release of
Smurfs in July, and
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants in December.
All movies are all in active development, with PAW Patrol is set to hit theaters July 24, 2026, followed by Aang’s animated return on Oct. 9. Fans of pizza-loving martial artist turtles will need to wait until Sept. 27, 2027, for the next TMNT bigscreen appearance — or will they? Read on to find out.
Produced by Paramount Pictures with Nickelodeon Movies in association with Domain Entertainment and MRC, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants will be released in the U.S. on December 19.
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| Regina Hall, Arturo Castro, George Lopez, Sherry Cola, Ice Spice | Getty, Amanda Ramon, Chris Hastings, Bonnie Nichoalds, Getty, Deadline |
Director Derek Drymon, a SpongeBob veteran who has worked on the beloved franchise on and off for more than two decades and returned to the franchise after co-directing Hotel Transylvania 4 in 2022, also took to the stage to introduce the premiere of the first act of the film.
“It’s like coming home,” he said, before giving a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming SpongeBob film, talking the Annecy audience through the artwork for the “spooky” underwater setting of the latest installment.
The exclusive footage of the “first act” sets the scene for SpongeBob’s latest adventure, in which SpongeBob finally grows tall enough to ride a rollercoaster but backs out at the last moment, only to be pulled into an even scarier pirate adventure with the Flying Dutchman. He then signs away his fate and plunges into the Underworld.
After he reaches the height of 36 clams, SpongeBob is allowed into the big people’s fairground park.
There he bumps into Mr. Krabs, who tells him that there is more to being grown up than height and regales him with a tale of his adventures at sea.
SpongeBob hits on the idea of getting his swashbuckler certificate but in the process, he unwittingly summons the spirit of the Flying Dutchman.
The evil pirate, voiced by Mark Hamill, abducts SpongeBob and Patrick Star with the aim of using them to break a curse on his back.
“We wanted to recapture the spirit of the first season,” said Drymon. “I’m so thankful to Paramount for backing a creator-led project. What wins the day is being a kid, and that’s what we infused in this feature.”
Blending 3D animation with cutting-edge 2D, this visually dynamic installment follows in the stylistic footsteps of
The Mitchells vs. the Machines and
Spider-Verse. It will hit theaters Dec. 19, 2025.
Tom Kenny returns to voice SpongeBob SquarePants, with Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy), Mr. Lawrence (Plankton).
Cola is repped by CAA, Stark Management and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis. Castro is represented by WME, Untitled Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox. Lopez is repped by UTA and 3 Arts.
Based on the SpongeBob SquarePants series, created by Stephen Hillenburg, the screenplay for The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, was written by Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman, from a story by Pam Brady alongside franchise veterans Andrew Goodman and Kaz. John Debney, who previously worked on the music for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water, returns to do the music here.
Producers are Lisa Stewart, Pam Brady, Aaron Dem, alongside executive producers Marc Ceccarelli, Vincent Waller.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants is produced by Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies, animated by Reel FX, and will hit theaters on December 19, 2025.
“Back then, ‘Bikini Bottom’ was just me having fun, paying homage to a show I loved growing up,” said Ice Spice during Annecy’s press panel. “Now, being in the actual movie? That’s wild. It’s like my childhood and career collided.”
The presentation also featured a sneak peek of the first 20 minutes of Smurfs featuring the voice of Rihanna for Smurfette and James Corden as No Name, whose search for identity leads to Papa Smurf being kidnapped.
Director Chris Miller said he had wanted to remain true to the spirit and style of the original Smurfs at the same time as creating something fresh with CGI animation.
“It’s not about just pixels and key frames, it’s about creating something that moves hearts,” he said.
