Paramount Tease Their Animated Future At CinemaCon
Netflix's live action TV series of Avatar: The Last Airbender finally arrived this year to a somewhat mixed reception. But the true Avatar fan is more interested in the new animated movies in production at Avatar Studios. At this week's CinemaCon- the convention for exhibitors and cinema owners- Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Studios announced the first details about the first of three standalone movies currently in development.
The first movie is going by the name of Aang: The Last Airbender although this is subject to change. The studios revealed that the voice cast will be headlined by Guardians Of The Galaxy star Dave Bautista and Eric Nam. The plot is currently under wraps, but Bautista will appear in an undisclosed villainous role.
The voice cast will also feature Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten and Roman Zaragoza. The film is being directed by series veteran Lauren Montgomery, with William Mata as co-director. Original series creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are executive producers alongside Eric Coleman. The film is due for release in North American cinemas on October 10, 2025.
Avatar The Last Airbender originally aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. It was perhaps the most obviously anime-influenced of American series, to the extent that it often (wrongly) labeled as anime. It was actually animated by Studio Mir in South Korea. The story takes place in a world where warring tribes of 'benders' are able to manipulate the elements. The mythical Avatar is said to be able to master all the elements, and the latest Avatar is a young boy called Aang. When the evil Fire Nation threatens the peace in the world Aang must unite with his friends Katara, Sokka and Toph. A sequel series The Legend of Korra followed from 2012 to 2014.
At Paramount's panel, they also revealed the cast for the upcoming The Smurfs Movie. Musical icon Rihanna leads the cast as Smurfette. She's being joined by a starry voice cast featuring 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, Kurt Russell and John Goodman. Rhianna will also serve as a producer and will contribute original music to the soundtrack. The Smurfs Movie will be released in cinemas on February 14, 2025.
The studio also announced that the original voice cast would be returning for the next SpongeBob movie. The Spongebob Movie: Search For Squarepants features the voices of Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Roger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence and Mr Lawrence. The film will be released in cinemas on December 15, 2025.
Also during the panel they screened an extended trailer for the animated Transformers movie Transformers One ahead of its public release on April 17. The movie's stars Chris Hemsworth and Bryan Tyree Henry were there to introduce it. They also confirmed that a third instalment of the preschool franchise Paw Patrol would hit cinemas on July 31, 2026.
Last but by no means least a sequel is also in the works for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The Mitchells and The Machine's Jeff Rowe is returning to direct, with Kyler Spears and Yashar Kassai as co-directors. Seth Rogan, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver and Ramsy McBean are producers. The plot is currently under wraps, but the film will hit cinemas in North America on October 8, 2026.
