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Louise Thomas
Editor
The Community movie will not film this year after all – and one of its stars has taken accountability for the delay.
In September, it will have been two years since it was announced the sitcom’s promise of “six seasons and a movie” would finally come to fruition.
US streaming service Peacock shared the news seven years after the series came to an end in 2015, revealing that creator Dan Harmon would oversee the project and, since then, it’s been revealed that all of the main cast, excluding Chevy Chase, would be returning,
While Jeff Winger star Joel McHale, who frequently cameos on hit series The Bear, said in March 2024 that he will be “shocked” if the film does not shoot this year, he has now provided a disappointing update for fans.
“I don’t have a definitive update because we thought for a moment it was going to all happen this year, and then it didn’t,” he told GQ.
“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.”
When asked when he believes the film will start shooting, McHale replied: “I’ll say vaguely, ‘Next year.’ How about that?”
The actor also shut down suggestion that the delay was caused by Donald Glover, who returned with a new Childish Gambino record earlier this year; Glover’s stock has risen considerably since Community ended in 2015.
“If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s my schedule on this one,” McHale said, adding: “It’s not his at all. He was available.”
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Hale confirmed that Glover would be returning as Troy for the movie in July 2023, stating: “The fact that we even got Donald to do it... that was the big piece.”
He also said that Shirley Bennett actor Yvette Nicole Brown would be returning for the movie. “I think everyone’s coming back. So far, we’re pretty good.”
Stars confirmed to return include McHale, Glover, Brown, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong.
Chevy Chase, who played millionaPierce Hawthorne, on the series will likely not be returning, with Harmon previously suggesting that it might not be “legal for him to come back”.
Chase’s time on the series was riddled with behind-the-scenes drama. The actor, 80, exited Community during its fourth season, after he allegedly made racist remarks toward Glover.
“Chevy was the first to realise how immensely gifted Donald was, and the way he expressed his jealousy was to try to throw Donald off,” Harmon told The New Yorker in 2018. “I remember apologising to Donald after a particularly rough night of Chevy’s non-PC [politically correct] verbiage, and Donald said, ‘I don’t even worry about it.’”
In a subsequent interview on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Chase suggested that his departure was on his own terms.
“I honestly felt the show wasn’t funny enough for me, ultimately,” he said. “I felt a little bit constrained. Everybody had their bits, and I thought they were all good. It just wasn’t hard-hitting enough for me.”
Chase added that “felt happier being alone” and “just didn’t want to be surrounded by that table, every day, with those people” – presumably referring to his co-stars.
Community, which follows a group of students at a community college, ran for 110 episodes across six seasons, airing its finale in 2015. A release date for the film is yet to be announced.
