Paramount Touts Robust Animation Slate, Reveals Voice Cast for ‘The Smurfs’ and ‘Aang: The Last Airbender’

Paramount Pictures’ upcoming animation slate is coming into focus, with the studio going into it at CinemaCon, revealing new details about its robust roster of properties including “Paw Patrol,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “The Smurfs,” “SpongeBob Squarepants” and – most excitingly – “The Last Airbender.” Fresh details about the casts for “The Smurfs Movie” and “Aang: The Last Airbender” were also revealed.

First up was “Paw Patrol 3,” which will hit theaters on July 31, 2026. It follows the highly successful “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” which was released in 2023. That film’s director, Cal Brunker, who also directed “Paw Patrol: The Movie” in 2021, is slated to return. Jennifer Dodge, Laura Clunie and Toni Stevens are the producers on the project.

Additionally, the follow-up to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” last year’s surprise hit (and one of the most delightful movies of the year), has been given a title: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2.” Makes sense! Jeff Rowe, who recently signed an overall deal with Paramount Animation, is coming back to direct, flanked by co-director Kyler Spears (back from the first movie) and new co-director Yashar Kassai. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver and Ramsay McBean are producing. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2” hits theaters on October 9, 2026.

“The Smurfs Movie,” which is scheduled to hit on February 14, 2025, revealed its all star voice cast. Joining Rihanna as Smurfette (she’ll also be composing new music for the project) are Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, JP Karliak, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, Xolo Maridueña with Kurt Russell and John Goodman. The movie is directed by Chris Miller, co-directed by Matt Landon, and produced by Ryan Harris, Rihanna, Laurence “Jay” Brown and Tyran “Ty-Ty” Smith.

There’s also a new “SpongeBob SquarePants movie,” “Search for SquarePants,” coming out on December 19, 2025. It’s directed by Derek Drymon and produced by Pam Brady and Lisa Stewart. The returning legacy cast includes Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy) and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton).

Coming next fall is “Aang: The Last Airbender,” which Paramount said was a working title. This new installment in the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” franchise will feature the newly announced voices of Dave Bautista, Eric Nam, Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten and Román Zaragoza. It is directed by Lauren Montgomery, co-directed by William Mata and produced by Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, Latifa Ouaou and Maryann Garge. You’ll remember that DiMartino and Konietzko were involved with the live-action series for Netflix until there were disagreements; they departed and are now overseeing an entire suite of new animated content related to the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” franchise.

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