Six seasons and a movie! The prophecy has been fulfilled! Well, it's going to be, anyway.
Community was beloved by many when it premiered on NBC way back in 2009, igniting careers for some of its cast and crew such as Donald Glover, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi and so many others, but since its ending in 2015, fans have been wondering if a side-comment made about The Cape from Season 2 of the show would come true for Community.
The comedy ended up getting those six seasons, but it’s been long rumored and hoped that a movie might someday happen. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast got back together for a virtual table reading of one of the episodes, reigniting those rumors of a possible movie. The Community movie has officially been announced. But when exactly is this film going to come out? Who is going to return to Greendale Community College? This is what we know.
What Is The Community Movie Release Date?
At the time of updating this in May 2024, there is no set release date for the Community film, but we do have plenty of other updates that give us hope that it’ll at least come out soon. Maybe not as a part of the 2024 movie schedule, but maybe as a part of the one in 2025.
Also, according to a Deadline report from September 2022, the Community movie is actually going to be premiering on the streaming service, Peacock, NBC’s exclusive streaming platform for some of their shows.
Community has been streaming on Netflix for years at this point, with all six seasons there, and is arguably one of the best shows to binge on Netflix, in my opinion. But, as the Deadline article said, Peacock won the rights to the film in a “competitive situation.”
It’s not that big of a shocker that the movie would land at Peacock, considering that the series originally aired on NBC, and ever since its cancellation it’s only grown in popularity through streaming platforms like Netflix.
Several Cast Members From Community Are Set To Return
Confirmed in the Deadline article from September 2022, we know now that several of the original stars of the Community cast are set to return for the sequel film:
Joel McHale as Jeff Winger
Joel McHale is confirmed to return as Jeff Winger in the Community movie. The actor even tweeted out his excitement for the film on Twitter, simply sending “.” while tagging his former cast members’ Twitter handles before the film was officially announced.
McHale has appeared in films like The Happytime Murders, Becky, Happily, and more since Community ended, and also hosts a show called Crime Scene Kitchen, which was renewed for Season 3. He currently stars in Animal Control.
Gillian Jacobs as Britta Perry
Gillian Jacobs will return as Britta Perry for the movie. The actress has appeared in movies like Magic Camp, Life of the Party and more, and has held roles in major TV shows such as Invincible and The Bear.
Alison Brie as Annie Edison
Alison Brie will return as Annie Edison. Her best movies and shows include Mad Men, GLOW, BoJack Horseman, The Post, Promising Young Women and many more.
Danny Pudi as Abed Nadir
Danny Pudi will return as Abed Nadir for the film. He held a voice role in the reboot of Ducktales, and played a main part on Mythic Quest. He also appeared as part of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender cast.
Jim Rash as Craig Pelton
Jim Rash is confirmed to come back as Dean Craig Pelton. He has since appeared in TV shows like Girlboss, black-ish, Harley Quinn, Solar Opposites and more.
Ken Jeong as Ben Chang
Ken Jeong will be back as Ben Chang for the Community movie. Jeong has hosted a variety of TV shows since then, and even had his own television series called Dr. Ken.
Donald Glover as Troy Barnes
For a time, it seemed that Donald Glover returning as Troy Barnes would be near impossible, since Glover has had a very busy schedule with new films and his own TV shows like Atlanta and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. However, we can confirm that he will be back as Troy.
Glover himself confirmed the news in an interview with GQ back 2023, and fans have been eager to see him return to the role after his departure.
Dan Harmon was quick to say that Glover’s return would probably happen in an interview with Variety in October 2022, so it’s not that surprising that the actor/creator said he would be returning.
Yvette Nicole Brown as Shirley Bennett
Also confirmed is Yvette Nicole Brown, who will come back as Shirley Bennett for the film. Jeong confirmed the news in an interview with The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon back in January 2024, so it looks like the gang will be all back together. Brown has appeared in various TV shows, such as Big Shot, Mom, Soul Man and more. She even earned a PrimeTime Emmy nomination for her role in A Black Lady Sketch Show.
Is anyone else as excited as I am to see this?
Chevy Chase Will Not Be Back
As expected, it’s been confirmed Chevy Chase will not be back as Pierce Hawthorne. That’s not surprising, as even the Deadline article from 2022 reported that Chase had problems with Harmon behind-the-scenes.
Then, in an interview with the New York Post in April 2024, McHale himself confirmed that Chase was most likely “not interested” in returning and that even if he was, he’s “not allowed to:”
I don’t think he’s allowed to. I don’t think it would happen. I’m guessing if you asked him, he wouldn’t be interested. Obviously his unceremonious departure in Season 4 pretty much did that in.
The Community Film Will Feature A College Reunion
Thankfully, we have some idea of what the Community film will be about. In an interview that Glover did with The Hollywood Reporter in February 2024 before Mr. and Mrs. Smith, he revealed a few details about the movie, including that it’ll involve a college reunion, and that Dan Harmon told him directly what it would be about:
Yeah, [Harmon] told me what he wanted, and I was like, 'This sounds great' ... It's a college reunion, but Abed is like this big director now, and basically this is his magnum opus. I'm like, 'This sounds f*cking tight.'
Other than that, there isn’t that much out there confirmed – but I for one am down for a college reunion and Abed being a huge film director.
Dan Harmon And Andrew Guest Wrote The Film
As confirmed by the Deadline article in 2022, Dan Harmon, the creator of Community, wrote the film alongside Andrew Guest, who has written on shows such as 30 Rock, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and of course, Community, where he wrote six episodes.
While the screenwriters are set, Harmon is not set to direct the film, and this has not changed as of May 2024. However, he does have people in mind, according to the statement that was in the Variety article:
There’s a director that directed some of my favorite episodes of ‘Community’ that it would be great to see be able to do the movie. And that’s not even mentioning the Russo Brothers, who I would also love to see come back. But I’m just making the assumption that they’re too busy ... But we haven’t had any official, legitimate conversations with people. Sony’s strategy was, let’s make this a project that exists and then we’ll talk about attaching directors. I think they’re doing that because, depending on the size of that director, the director could then make the deal more complicated to close.
I’m sure that as more news begins to come out about the film, we’ll get an update on who is set to direct. But wow, could you imagine the Russo Brothers returning to comedy after directing the likes of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame? I would adore them in the Community world again, but only time will tell.
Filming Should Begin In 2024
This is probably the news that everyone has been looking forward to for a while. In March 2024, Deadline confirmed that the Community movie is looking to film in the same year, and that Peacock is “working around” Glover’s schedule. McHale says that he has read the script and that it is complete, and that the plan is to film later in the year.
He added that he would be “shocked” if they didn’t begin filming soon. A 2024 filming date makes me excited – and hopefully, that means we might get it next year.
With this news in mind, I can’t wait to see where this Community movie goes and how our characters are going to return to Greendale after being away from it for so long. Are we going to get Troy and Abed in the morning again? Another Spanish rap? All these questions I need answers to.
