Nickelodeon brought fans down to Bikini Bottom and beyond to celebrate SpongeBob SquarePants’ landmark 25th anniversary during an exclusive panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego on Thursday, July 25, 2024.

Appearing in Hall H for the first time, iconic voices Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton), along with executive producers Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller, kicked off the four-day Comic-Con weekend with the Best. Panel. Ever. — “Celebrating 25 Years of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants.”

Moderated by Good Burger’s Ed (Kel Mitchell), the panel highlights include a surprise live appearance by legendary actor Mark Hamill (Star Wars) to announce his role as “The Flying Dutchman” in Paramount Pictures’ upcoming fourth theatrical film, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, an exclusive clip reveal of the upcoming movie, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, available August 2 on Netflix, and a first look at the one-hour special SpongeBob SquarePants, “Kreepaway Kamp.”

Veteran voice cast Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs) also conducted a live table read of the beloved 1999 pilot episode SpongeBob SquarePants, “Help Wanted,” and Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy Cheeks) and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton) performed a live table read from SpongeBob SquarePants, “Single-Celled Defense.”