Paramount is expanding the Spongebob Squarepants franchise with a fourth theatrically released movie and three spin-off films coming to Paramount+. Created in 1999 by the late Stephen Hillenburg, Spongebob Squarepants is one of Nickelodeon's most successful franchises and has created an icon the world over in a series that has run for 13 seasons with over 200 episodes. The series follows the adventures of the title character, who lives in a pineapple under the sea, and his adventures along with his friends in the city of Bikini Bottom.
Due to the popularity of the series, three Spongebob Squarepants movies have been released, the first in 2004 titled The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, which was a box-office success and was originally planned to mark the end of the series. Yet, the popularity of both the film and series led to many more seasons. 2015, eleven years after the first movie, Nickelodeon released Spongebob: Sponge Out of Water, which was another box office hit that outgrossed the first movie. 2020 saw the release of Spongebob: Sponge on the Run, which was originally planned for a theatrical release but was released on Paramount+ due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it did receive a limited theatrical release in Canada.
It appears that Paramount is still heavily invested in Spongebob as Deadline has reported the studio has confirmed Spongebob Squarepants 4 is in development for theatrical release. In addition to Spongebob 4, the studio announced three spin-off movies coming to Paramount+ that will focus on other Bikini Bottom characters. The first of these planned spin-off films is scheduled to be released in 2023. Brian Robbins, Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures, released the following statement regarding the news:
“As we’ve known with Nickelodeon’s long-standing success, the kids and family audience is incredibly loyal, and we see that on Paramount+ as well, with kids and family ranking as one of the strongest genres on the service in terms of both engagement and subscriber acquisition. So as they stay for our shows and look for even more of them, we’re doubling down on giving them what they want by expanding the universes of the characters they love the best.”
This announcement is part of a larger trend of Paramount expanding the Spongebob franchise. In addition to the main series, Kamp Koral, which is a prequel series featuring the characters as children, has been a big hit on Paramount+ as has The Patrick Star Show, which features Spongebob's loveable friend Patrick in the lead role. That series has aired on Nickelodeon and will available soon to stream on Paramount+. It should be noted that Spongebob creator, Stephen Hillenburg, did not want to see the Spongebob spin-off series created, and the projects only happened once the creator passed away in 2018.
The first of the planned Paramount+ spin-off films is likely the planned Sandy Cheeks movie, which was announced in May 2021. Other possible characters for a spin-off could include Mr. Krabbs and his daughter Pearl, Squidward, or even an entire movie about Patrick Star that is connected to his television series. Similar to many other Paramount brands like Star Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Sonic the Hedgehog, it appears Spongebob Squarepants is now part of Paramount's plans to make a multimedia franchise that spans film, linear television, and streaming platforms.
Source: Deadline