According to a listing from Production Weekly, Paramount Animation has now commenced principal photography on The SpongeBob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge, the third instalmnent in the SpongeBob SquarePants movie series.

Directed by Tim Hill, show veteran and co-writer of 2004’s The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie, the film will reportedly explore the origin story of SpongeBob meeting his friends for the very first time at Camp Coral, and will incorporate full CGI animation for its underwater sequences for the very first time, handled by Mikros Image (Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion).

Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Carolyn Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett and Lori Alan are all expected to return to voice their characters in the film, while Hans Zimmer is also on board to compose the music.

It’s a Wonderful Sponge will be the first SpongeBob production following the death of creator Stephen Hillenburg, who passed away aged 57 this past November. It is set for release on July 17th 2020.

Via PursueNews