Community Movie on Hold Due to Writers Strike, Joel McHale Still Optimistic

The production of the Community movie, which has been in development for a long time, has faced some delays.

However, Joel McHale, one of the stars of the show, gives an optimistic update on the status of the project. Community was a comedy series that ran for six seasons and depicted the diverse and eccentric personalities and relationships of a group of students at a community college.

The show was created by Dan Harmon and endured many challenges during its run, but it attracted a devoted fanbase that has been eagerly awaiting a movie adaptation since the series finale.

In an interview with TVLine , McHale revealed that the production of the Community movie has been halted due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.

The actor expressed his disappointment, saying that they were “very close” to making the movie. However, McHale supports the writers and reassures Community’s loyal fans that the movie is “still going to happen.” Below are McHale’s remarks on the movie:

“When this strike is over, we’ll come back and we’ll make it. And I am sure that [series creator] Dan [Harmon] will put in 12 jokes addressing the fact it took [this long to come together]. But we’ll get there. It just may take a little while.”

Community debuted in 2009 and quickly gained a devoted fanbase that admired its witty humor and writing. However, the series faced constant threats of cancelation, as its ratings were lower than the network’s expectations.

Despite this, Community managed to survive, producing five seasons for NBC and a final season for the now-discontinued Yahoo! Screen.

During and after its unstable run, Community fans adopted a phrase from Danny Pudi’s Abed, “Six seasons and a movie,” which became a rallying cry to demand a movie adaptation.

Harmon has been hinting at the project for years, which finally made progress with an official announcement last year. The Community movie will feature a returning cast of Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Donald Glover, Jim Rash, Ken Jeong, and McHale.

The show has faced many challenges, with Harmon being fired from the show, resulting in the disappointing Community season 4 before he was rehired. The show also suffered from Chevy Chase’s problematic behavior, which led to several new characters being introduced late in the series to fill the gap.

Nevertheless, Community has maintained a loyal fanbase that has learned to endure the uncertainty and are happy to know that the movie is still in the works.

About Community: The Movie

The Community Movie is an upcoming comedy movie and a spin-off of NBC’s 2009 sitcom, Community. The film will premiere exclusively on Peacock. No release date has been confirmed yet. Dan Harmon, the creator of Community, is set to write the film alongside Andrew Guest. 

Several regular cast members from the original series are set to star in the film, including Joel McHale as Jeff Winger, Gillian Jacobs as Britta Perry, Alison Brie as Annie Edison, Danny Pudi as Abed Nadir, Jim Rash as Craig Pelton and Ken Jeong as Ben Chang.