More than a year after Paramount moved forward with their own animation division — more than a year after we received a real update pertaining directly to them, even — things are really happening. We haven’t been informed on everything that’s taking place, mind you, but just trust that they are getting things out there.

This acceleration is reported by Variety, who claim that Paramount are making deals and working ideas with the likes of Nickelodeon, J.J. Abrams, and Mary Parent. The kid’s entertainment titan — definitely a staple of my childhood, not that you actually need to know — have been doing behind-the-scenes work on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2; Paul Tibbitt is expected to direct, with Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger (Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens) writing the screenplay. Per their prior announcement, we should expect that to hit toward the end of 2014.

Parent will produce that project, along with New Kid, an adaptation of Penny Arcade’s comic which, as we heard in June of 2011, Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli, After Earth) will be scripting.

Abrams‘ project is secret.

Nickelodeon, in going back to them, also have eyes toward a few of their other animated shows — The Legend of Korra (Shyamalan‘s not getting near that one), Dora the Explorer, and Monkey Quest being only three of the multiple choices to get name-checked. Given the extremely lengthy creative process on these sorts of films, however, I’d expect that some things get started and are never completed, while franchises outside of those specific three get their own film somewhere in the next five years. It’s all moving forward at once.

SpongeBob SquarePants 2? An Abrams animated film? What do you make of it?