Mark Hamill, best known for his role as the valiant Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” films, plays a villain in “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants.”

The 74-year-old actor, who has previously provided voice acting for animated films including “The Last Airbender” and “Batman: The Animated Series,” is returning to the world of animation for this project.

“In Hollywood, when you do something well, they want you to the same thing over and over and over again. So I was getting all these nice guy parts, and I thought, I want to be a character actor. They cast with their ears, not their eyes, and you’re going to be able to play all these characters you would never get in a million years on camera,” Hamill explained how his acting career has changed as a result of animation.

In “The SpongeBob Movie,” Hamill portrays the Flying Dutchman.

Tom Kenny, who voices SpongeBob and is returning to the role from the original cartoon series, joins Hamill.

“I really do feel like people have been inviting me into their brains and their houses for years and years, and feeding me. So I really appreciate that,” Kenny stated what it means to him to play SpongeBob.

The upcoming movie will feature the beloved characters SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Sandy, and Mr. Krabs, as they embark on a new adventure filled with humor, heart, and high-stakes hijinks. The story reportedly centers on a mysterious threat to Bikini Bottom, forcing the group to work together to save their undersea home.

The film is expected to blend classic SpongeBob humor with modern animation techniques, appealing to both longtime fans and a new generation of viewers.

The new SpongeBob SquarePants movie is slated for release in 2026, with a theatrical debut followed by streaming availability. More casting announcements and a trailer are expected in the coming months.