Summary
- Joel McHale, a lead for all six seasons of the show
Community
, has provided an update on the long-awaited movie, which is now likely delayed to mid-to-late 2025 or early 2026. - Despite previous reports and social media problems, Joel McHale blames his schedule for the delay, not Donald Glover. The movie is completely financed though.
- Most of the original cast, except Chevy Chase, will return for the film.
The anticipated Community movie has been given the green light… now, it’s just a matter of filming it. During a recent interview with GQ, Joel McHale provided a timeline for production. While Community fans are eager to see the beloved sitcom fulfill its “six seasons and a movie” prophecy, we’ll be waiting a bit longer, either near the last quarter of 2025 or early 2026. There were hopes the movie would go into production this year, but McHale shares that won’t happen:
“Oh, well, it hasn’t been shot yet. It will be. And 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.
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. I’ll say vaguely next year. How about that?”
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There’s been some fan speculation that the film’s delay is a result of Donald Glover’s schedule — the actor, writer, and musician will release his sixth and final album under the Childish Gambino moniker, Bando Stone & The New World, which serves as the soundtrack to his upcoming film of the same name. He’s also been working on Prime Videos’ Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which was renewed for a second season. But, according to McHale, Glover’s not the one to blame:
If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s my schedule on this one. It’s not [Donald’s fault] at all. He was available. No, no, no, no.
“I will say, and please print this,” added McHale, “it was not Donald’s schedule. We love Donald. You can fully blame my schedule.” McHale stars as Frank Shaw on Fox’s Animal Control, which earned a season three renewal in February. He has also recently appeared in a guest starring role on Hulu’s hit The Bear and has several projects, including California King and the animated Star Wars: Detours, in the works.
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Community
4/5
This Stripes-inspired comedy is about a group of misfits attending the Greendale Community College. The focus group of the Community is led by a lawyer with a revoked degree who is trying to scam his way through the low-budget college and regain his old life.
- Release Date
- September 17, 2009
- Seasons
- 6
- Network
- NBC
Beginning in 2009, Community aired for five seasons on NBC before the network canceled it. Yahoo! Screen picked up the series for a sixth season (and final), which concluded in June 2016. Series creator Dan Harmon will scribe the film’s script alongside Andrew Guest (Brooklyn Nine-Nine).
Alongside McHale and Glover, Yvette Nicole Brown, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong are all confirmed to return. That means the Community film will bring back most of the show’s original cast, except Chevy Chase — which should not come as a surprise to anyone. Chase’s tenure on Community ended abruptly in season four due to alleged racist comments towards Glover (and other disturbing behavior). On the sitcom, his character Pierce vanished from the study group in season four. The show later explained his absence with a death storyline.
3:03
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Last year, Chase discussed leaving the series, telling Marc Maron during an episode of his podcast, WTF with Marc Maron:
“I honestly felt the show wasn’t funny enough for me, ultimately. 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.”
According to McHale, Chase’s comments were just “Chevy being Chevy.” Suffice it to say, fans of the TV show will likely not miss the actor’s presence. You can expect the Community movie in late 2025 or even early 2026.
