SpongeBob Squarepants Movie Gets New Title, Poster

We still have a month-or-so left before the year comes to a close, but audiences are being treated to early looks at 2020’s crop of films. One beloved property that is set to return to the big screen in 2020 is SpongeBob SquarePants, the beloved animated series from Nickelodeon. On Tuesday, Paramount Pictures released a promotional poster for their upcoming film, which is officially titled The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run. The poster shows a 3D SpongeBob Squarepants (Tom Kenny) and Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke) looking through binoculars, as the former holds a wanted poster for his trusty pet snail, Gary.

Interestingly, this indicates some major differences from what we previously knew about the latest SpongeBob movie, which was initially titled The SpongeBob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge. The film was described as a prequel of sorts to the beginning to the SpongeBob SquarePants series, and would follow the titular yellow sponge during his time at Kamp Koral, a summer sleepaway camp. In June of this year, a Kamp Koral prequel series was officially ordered by Nickelodeon, so it looks like that story might still be told in some way.

If this poster is any indication, Sponge On the Run seems to be at least somewhat similar to “Gary Comes Home”, a 2005 episode in which Gary ran away from home. That episode followed Spongebob’s search for Gary, who was eventually found to be unintentionally adopted by Granny (Amy Poehler), a seemingly-ordinary woman who secretly had a sadistic love for eating snails. It’s safe to assume that the movie won’t follow this exact plotline (especially with a much longer runtime to tell its story), but the hashtag #SaveGary certainly hints at dire circumstances for the snail.

The film is directed by Tim Hill, who has served as a long-time writer on the flagship series. New cast members include Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, and Reggie Watts in undisclosed roles. Hans Zimmer will score the film, while pop singer Cyndi Lauper will team with her co-writer Rob Hyman for more original music.

What do you think of the first poster for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On the Run? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run will be released in May of 2020.