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The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants/production

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This is a production article for the SpongeBob SquarePants film, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, which aired on United States of America December 19, 2025.


Production

Timeline

On February 15, 2022, a fourth (third if counting the previous film's exclusive Paramount+ release) theatrical SpongeBob SquarePants film was officially announced during Paramount's Investor Event.[1][2][3]

According to the U.S. Copyright Office catalog, the movie started pre-production in September 2022.[4]

On November 10, 2022, the release date of the film was announced to be May 23, 2025.

Visual development[5] for the movie was done from November 2022 to June 2025[6]. It was led by Paige Woodward Scheier,[7] who had previously worked on The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and Plankton: The Movie.

On April 17, 2023, Reel FX Animation announced on Twitter that they would be animating the film.[8]

On April 27, 2023, the title and plot were revealed at Cinemacon 2023. A first look at the film, as well as a temporary logo, was also revealed during Paramount Pictures' panel.[9]

On October 23, 2023, the film's release date was delayed from May 23, 2025 to December 19 of that year due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.

On April 11, 2024, the logo was officially revealed on the SpongeBob Movie twitter account, with the account's name being renamed to the movie's name, and the description being changed to promote the movie. [10]

On June 2, 2024, the movie had its very first screening in front of an audience, in the Paramount Picture's lot.[11]

From July 2024 to December 2024, Anat Dayag worked as an animator on the movie.[12]

On July 25, 2024, it was announced during San Diego Comic-Con 2024 that Mark Hamill would be voicing the Flying Dutchman.[13][14]

In November 2024, Jason Reicher finished his storyboard plussing on the movie. He started in February 2023.[15]

On April 3, 2025, a trailer for the movie was shown at Cinemacon 2025. According to the audience who saw the footage, it starts with a live-action pirate captain, played by Clancy Brown, telling the tale of a curse that can be lifted by finding the world's most innocent soul, who happens to be SpongeBob himself. It then cut to SpongeBob waking up and measuring his height. He then proclaims to be a "big guy" and started playing the song "The Next Episode" by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, while lifting his plush weights. He then meets up with Patrick and sees Plankton trying to steal a Krabby Patty. Another scene then shows Mr. Krabs telling SpongeBob about his days as a sailor, leading SpongeBob to want to be just like Mr. Krabs and to go on an adventure on his own. SpongeBob and Patrick then cross paths with the Flying Dutchman where he takes them to the Underworld in order for SpongeBob to prove his worth.[16][17][18] Another live-action scene was also present in the trailer, showcasing Mark Hamill playing a live-action Flying Dutchman.[19]

Tom Kenny and Mark Hamill were present on stage when talking about the movie at Cinemacon 2025, with Tom describing the film as a "Coming of age story."[20]

On April 15, 2025, it was announced that John Debney would be composing for the movie.[21] He previously composed for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

By May 8, 2025, the movie has reached the audio mixing phase.[22]

The movie was officially completed around late May/early June 2025.[23][4]

A first look at the movie was shown at the 2025 Annecy International Film Festival, on June 10, 2025. Along with the screening of the short "Order Up"[24][25] Ice Spice, Regina Hall, Sherry Cola, Arturo Castro and George Lopez were also all announced to be part of the voice cast, with Ice Spice composing a song for the movie.[26][27]

According to director Derek Drymon, he wanted to recapture the spirit of the first season and was thankful of Paramount for "backing a creator-led project." The movie was also stated to blend 3D animation with "cutting-edge 2D."

On July 6, 2025, insider Daniel Richtman (better known as DanielRPK) reported that the first official trailer would release on July 8, which was just one day off from the actual release date.[28]

On July 8, 2025, it was announced that the first official trailer for the film would be released the following day. Derek Drymon would later reveal on his Instagram that it would release at 6AM PT/9AM ET.[29] Almost half a day in advance of that release time, Paramount Pictures published the trailer early as an unlisted YouTube video,[30] separate from the public YouTube video published at release time.[31]

The film had its wrap party on July 11, 2025, at the United Theater.[32][33]

According to Derek Drymon on Instagram, the movie first started with a script but "a lot of reimagining" happened during the storyboarding phase.[34]

Production images

Concept art

Storyboards

Work doodles

Crew images

References

  1. ↑ https://twitter.com/paramountplus/status/1493707479275827200
  2. ↑ https://twitter.com/spongebob/status/1493708961497088000
  3. ↑ Deadline - 'Mission: Impossible 8' Jumps To 2025; 'A Quiet Place: Day One' Goes To Summer In 2024 Theatrical Shake-Up Due To Actors Strike
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1
    File:SFScopyrightcatalog.png
  5. ↑ https://bardstudio.com/resume
  6. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvi-ramirez-burguillos-738963142/
  7. ↑ https://www.papawhiskeysierra.com/rsum
  8. ↑ https://twitter.com/wearereelfx/status/1647978360599982084
  9. ↑ https://twitter.com/discussingfilm/status/1651644651055480832
  10. ↑ https://x.com/SpongeBobMovie/status/1778473438396756283
  11. ↑ https://x.com/ArtofSpongebob/status/1797648084274724944
  12. ↑ https://a242d48a-aec2-4887-871f-acefcbc654b7.filesusr.com/ugd/caac94_36bd98298fb64d9aa9792ad79b20e355.pdf
  13. ↑ https://www.animationmagazine.net/2024/07/sdcc-spongebob-panel-announces-mark-hamill-for-new-movie-new-special-saving-bikini-bottom-clip-revealed/
  14. ↑ https://x.com/ToonHive/status/1816581303426499014
  15. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-reicher-757a48ab/
  16. ↑ https://discussingfilm.net/2025/04/03/cinemacon-2025-paramount-updates/
  17. ↑ https://x.com/screenrant/status/1907853336142843986
  18. ↑ https://x.com/DEADLINE/status/1907852719379067169
  19. ↑ https://x.com/TheEricGoldman/status/1907852972157210996
  20. ↑ https://x.com/HollywoodHandle/status/1907851770291691944
  21. ↑ https://filmmusicreporter.com/2025/04/15/john-debney-scoring-derek-drymons-the-spongebob-movie-4-search-for-squarepants/
  22. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/derekdrymonart/p/DJZhQxTpNC8/?img_index=2
  23. ↑ https://collider.com/spongebob-movie-search-for-squarepants-rules-for-animation-director-derek-drymon-mark-hamill/
  24. ↑ https://programme.annecyfestival.com/en/program/event/ec09f704-371f-475b-a715-00dbacd9808b
  25. ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/annecy-2025-lineup-1236196030/
  26. ↑ https://www.screendaily.com/news/regina-hall-ice-spice-join-paramounts-spongebob-movie-4/5205853.article
  27. ↑ https://deadline.com/2025/06/new-cast-spongebob-movie-search-for-squarepants-cast-1236429393/
  28. ↑ NickALive!. (July 6, 2025). "First 'The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants' Trailer May Drop July 9."
  29. ↑ derekdrymonart. (July 8, 2025). "Trailer Drops Tomorrow." Instagram.
  30. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4B94wCht6s (2025-07-09T01:23:36Z)
  31. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7t2gyIwvDo (2025-07-09T13:00:15Z)
  32. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/DMA9mQDREKn/
  33. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/DMDnq13P1mY/?img_index=4&igsh=ajEwNXk2MGh6bzlo
  34. ↑
    File:SFS semiboarddriven.jpeg
  35. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/C0W4Aw0rqhv/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 36.5 36.6 https://www.instagram.com/derekdrymonart/p/DMKxBlkxPfJ/?img_index=1
  37. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CrD6BWcr14d/
  38. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct6pLasrfKd/
  39. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/derekdrymonart/p/C4-1VShrP6c/
  40. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/derekdrymonart/p/C56EMW6xFNG/
  41. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/derekdrymonart/p/C5_Xxh5xQU4/
  42. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/derekdrymonart/p/C8XHd97JfN5/
  43. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/derekdrymonart/p/DLcriIAxsFJ/
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