How many times has the Community cast been asked when the Community movie will arrive? That number might be off the charts, but it’s definitely more than “six,” which is the number of seasons that the NBC comedy ran. That number surely also exceeds “six seasons and a movie,” which has been the well-founded expectation since, well, you can blame that on Abed. As it turns out, that line should come back to either bless or haunt Abed in the movie, if his current profession (as revealed by Donald Glover, which we will talk about momentarily) is any indication.
Wait, is the film really a thing? Yes. The greenlight arrived in 2023, but Joel McHale has been delivering promising words about the movie since the show ended, basically, and since that time, he has fielded so many inquiries that he admitted to Conan O’Brien (who called Community “for my money, one of the best sitcoms ever”) in 2021 that “I used to just lie about it” because there was nothing new to contribute to the conversation. Yes, he’s a stinker.
Let’s talk about what is concretely known about this movie, which is definitely going to fulfill the prophecy.
Plot
For starters, this will be “a college reunion,” according to what Donald Glover declared to Hollywood Reporter while promoting Mr. & Mrs. Smith earlier this year. This will also be a reunion where Chevy Chase’s character does not return. Presumably, this absence will be fine for everyone concerned, which we should have anticipated after Alison Brie told us (in 2019) about the cast’s ongoing text chain, “I feel like I can say that Chevy Chase is not on the chain.” The question there, of course, will be whether his absence is addressed, and whether that will include any verbal shots fired.
In all seriousness, however, Dan Harmon came through with a script after the film was officially greenlit last year (and subsequently delayed by strikes), and Glover did reveal the aforementioned reunion detail along with “Abed [Danny Pudi’s character] is like this big director now, and basically this is his magnum opus. I’m like, ‘This sounds f*cking tight.’” Of course, Glover also recently declared that he’s grown weary of being blamed for this movie’s endless delays, and fortunately, Joel McHale recently stepped up to take the blame on that note.
While promoting his role as The Bear‘s unrepentant Mean Chef, David Fields (a.k.a. “Chef Winger” to Community devotees), McHale told GQ the following:
“If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s my schedule on this one. It’s not [Donald’s fault] at all. He was available. No, no, no, no … I will say, and please print this … It was not Donald’s schedule. We love Donald. You can fully blame my schedule.”
And to add a bit of spice to that subject, Ken Jeong tweeted a screen cap of Deadline’s coverage of this quote and added, “Hey, I’m not to blame, either. I’m VERY available.”
McHale additionally confirmed of the film, “[I]t hasn’t been shot yet. It will be. And I don’t have a definitive update … But we have the money, and that is a huge step. And hopefully, people still want to see it. And Peacock’s paying for it. And so I can’t wait to do it.” He sounds relieved to not be making sh*t up anymore, and good for Chef Winger.
Cast
Yup, no Chevy Chase. However, we will certainly see Joel McHale as Jeff Winger, Donald Glover as Troy, Alison Brie as Annie, Yvette Nicole Brown as Shirley, Danny Pudi as Abed, Gillian Jacobs as Britta, Ken Jeong as Chang, and Jim Rash as Dean Pelton. Will we see any guest stars (maybe Paget Brewster, John Oliver, Keith David, Brie Larson) come back as well?
Release Date
McHale told GQ that “vaguely next year” is the magic time.
Trailer
Since The Darkest Timeline has already been mentioned in this category, please enjoy this also-good trip down memory lane with John Oliver.