Joel McHale Confirms ‘Community’ Movie Postponed Amid Strike: ‘It Was Pretty Darn Close’
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The “Community” plan for six seasons and a movie has hit a snag amid the ongoing WGA strike.
Joel McHale, star of the off-beat sitcom ensemble alongisde Alison Brie, Yvette Nicole Brown, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs, Chevy Chase, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong, gave an update on the previously announced Peacock movie adaptation. To note, original cast members Brown, Chase, and Glover are not confirmed to be returning for the film.
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“We had a shooting date coming up, which was going to be in the summer,” McHale told Variety. “And I think they were extremely close to — I mean, [creator] Dan [Harmon] is somebody that tweaks things but, obviously, that’s all stopped. But I think it was pretty darn close.”
McHale, who is executive-producing the film, continued, “It was close, the shoot date was coming up and we were all excited to do it and then the writers strike happened, which obviously put everything on hold, and rightfully so. The writers are asking for very reasonable things. Writers need to be paid properly.”
Series creator Harmon and co-writer Andrew Guest are penning the script for the “Community” film. McHale noted that a director is close to being confirmed.
“I know who wants to do it and we’re talking to and is interested and engaged,” the former “Soup” talk show host said.
Showrunner Harmon previously addressed the long-awaited film version.
“The fan that Instagrams every day about ‘Community,’ how can you tell them, ‘Yes, it’s definitely going to happen, but it may be between one and eight years from now’ — which is how the industry works, especially when you factor in pandemics and whatnot,” Harmon said when last hinting at the possibility of a movie. “It just feels like psychological torture, from a fan’s perspective, to keep looking into the backseat of a station wagon and saying, ‘Who wants McDonald’s?’ And to just keep driving down the freeway. I don’t want to be guilty of causing that sensation. It just takes so long sometimes.”
“Community” premiered in 2009 and followed a group of misfit community college students. The series won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation in 2011.
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