Community movie: Joel McHale says they were “very close” to starting filming before delay

Community really is the little show that could. After airing on NBC for five seasons, where it was under a near-constant threat of cancellation, the comedy series finally got the axe. Thankfully, Yahoo! came to the rescue on the day that the cast’s contracts were set to expire and ordered a 13-episode sixth season. The dream of “six seasons and a movie” was finally realized when Peacock announced last year that they were developing a Community movie, but Joel McHale has now confirmed that the project has been delayed just as filming was about to begin.

Joel McHale told TVLine that the Community movie was due to start shooting this month, but production was put on hold due to the Writers Guild strike. “That was a bummer, because we were getting very close,” McHale said. “But at the same time, I’m a thousand billion percent behind the writers. The writer need to be paid.” The Community movie will still happen, it will just have to wait until the strike is over. “When this strike is over, we’ll come back and we’ll make it,” McHale said. “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 fans are a patient bunch, so I’m sure they’re fine to wait a little longer, particularly if it helps get the writers what they want.

In a statement when the Community movie was first announced, Susan Rovner, chairperson of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming Entertainment, said “‘Six seasons and a movie’ started out as a cheeky line from ‘Community’s early seasons and quickly ignited a passionate fan movement for this iconic, hilarious, and cool (cool, cool) NBC comedy. We’re incredibly grateful that 15 years later, we are able to deliver fans this promised movie and can’t wait to get to work with Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest, Joel McHale, Sony, and our partners at UTV to continue this epic comedy for Peacock audiences.“

Dan Harmon is writing the Community movie alongside Andrew Guest, but it’s not clear what it will be about. While Joel McHale knows, he’s not about to spill the beans. “I know what’s going on [in the movie] but I can’t say anything,” he said. “From what I know about it, it’s great, it really is. It’s going to be a barnburner.” Much of the original cast is expected to return, including Donald Glover as Troy Barnes.