Joel McHale says that Donald Glover is returning for Community movie, but Chevy Chase is not

Joel McHale has an update on which familiar faces we're likely to see (and which ones we're not) in the long-gestating Community movie.

In a new interview with Kelly Ripa's Let's Talk Off Camera podcast, McHale claimed that Donald Glover, who played former star quarterback Troy before exiting the series during season 5, will be part of the movie.

"Donald's coming back and that's really important," McHale said. "The fact that Donald's gonna do it, that was the big piece. But I think everyone's coming back. I mean, so far we're pretty good. And I think that will happen. If not then, you know, Donald will be there."

He then joked, "See, it'll just be Donald. It'll just be an episode of Atlanta."

Harper Smith/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Donald Glover and Joel McHale on 'Community'

Glover wasn't part of the cast list when Peacock officially announced the Community movie last September, and the streaming service still hasn't confirmed his involvement. EW has reached out to representatives for Peacock and Glover for further comment.

Chevy Chase was the other notable name not included in the film's announcement, but McHale says to not expect a surprise cameo from the actor.

"Yeah, I don't think so," McHale said when Ripa asked if Chase would be part of the movie. "There wasn't any issues at all when we were making the show," he added with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

Chase, who played millionaire Pierce Hawthorne on the series, had a rocky relationship with both his Community costars and series creator Dan Harmon, and left the show "by mutual agreement" after reportedly using a slur on set during production on season 4. As McHale reminded Ripa during their conversation, the show addressed the actor's departure by killing his character off-screen.

Pierce's death resulted in a memorable scene in which the characters are informed of his will (which includes each of them being gifted a thermos of his semen) by guest star Walton Goggins, who was replaced by Pedro Pascal when the cast recreated the scene during a 2020 Zoom table read.

"Hopefully Walton and Pedro would come back on, but Pedro seems to be the most famous person now on the planet, so I don't know," McHale said.

Listen to the full conversation on Let's Talk Off Camera. According to McHale, the Community movie will film next summer.

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