SpongeBob SquarePants: The Search For Squarepants – Release Date, Cast, Story, Spinoffs & Everything We Know

The adventures of SpongeBob SquarePants continue not only on TV but also on the big screen, with Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount setting the release date The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants. Created by Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob SquarePants premiered in 1999 and has been unstoppable ever since, with over 10 seasons and branching out to other media, creating a franchise. SpongeBob always gets involved in all types of trouble around town, and he’s accompanied by his best friends Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks, his neighbor Squidward Tentacles, and his greedy boss Mr. Krabs.

SpongeBob’s first big-screen adventure, simply titled The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, was released in 2004. While that was initially planned to be the series finale, its success made way for two more movies: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Now, Paramount has announced a fourth new SpongeBob movie as well as more spinoffs, and it seems that SpongeBob’s “nautical nonsense” is far from over.

The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants Latest News

The biggest update concerning the new Paramount animated feature is The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarPants’ release date has been pushed. Originally slated to be released in May 2025, SpongeBob’s latest cinematic adventure will now be released sometime in December of that same year. Release dates are shuffled around quite frequently, but the recently resolved Hollywood strikes have caused Paramount to reorganize a lot of its upcoming film slate.

The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants Release Date

Revising previous reports, The Search For SquarePants will now be released in December 2025 instead of May. Fans of the beloved animated franchise will have to wait an additional six months to reunite with their favorite undersea characters on the big screen, which is not a negligible amount of time. The change of date is destined to recontextualize the movie, as it will now go from being a summer blockbuster release to being a kid-friendly alternative to the kinds of adult-oriented films released in the winter months.

Related: Every SpongeBob SquarePants Movie & Special, Ranked

The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants Cast

While no official cast list has been revealed yet for the newest SpongeBob movie, it can be reasonably assumed that the main voice cast from the TV series will be back, since they have reprised their roles in every movie so far. With that in mind, the following actors should be expected back, including:

The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants Story Details

According to the film’s official IMDb page, The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants will see the familiar yellow fry-cook depart the friendly confines of Bikini Bottom and visit the deep ocean. Though few other details have been revealed, it is now clear that SpongeBob will have to face off with the dreaded Flying Dutchman, who has been a popular supporting character in the series for years. How the ghostly figure fits into the story is unclear, but Paramount will likely be more forthcoming with details soon.

The Sandy Cheeks Movie Has Also Been Delayed

Apart from the new SpongeBob movie, the spinoff Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie has also seen its release date pushed. The Liza Johnson-directed movie was supposed to arrive on Netflix in late 2023 but has now been given an indefinite release window of 2024. In the Sandy Cheeks spinoff movie, the entire town of Bikini Bottom gets scooped up by a sinister corporation, and Sandy and SpongeBob go off on an epic quest to make things right. While The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants will be released in theaters, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie will stream on Netflix when it does finally arrive.