Joel McHale Gives Optimistic Update About Community Movie Due To Netflix Popularity

Community Joel McHale Jeff Winger NBC
(Image credit: Justin Lubin / NBC)

While Community has been off the air for a few years now, the show is still hitting with audiences, as it's currently experiencing incredible popularity on Netflix. According to the streamer's new top 10 feature, the comedy is currently its #7 TV show, which is an impressive feat when you consider how many TV shows are available on Netflix. Now, this sudden craze for the show has encouraged Joel McHale to offer an optimistic update on the Community movie.

Joel McHale can admit that he didn't think a Community movie would actually happen but, with the renewed hype for the show, he now believes more than ever that it could happen, even if he hasn't gotten the call yet:

There’s way more rumblings than there used to be. Alison [Brie] tweeted that she got a phone call from Sony. They still haven’t called me, maybe Matthew Lillard will take over. But I would say there’s a better chance than there’s ever been. … For a long time I was like, ‘never gonna happen.’ And now I think with the renewed interest, and I know the cast is interested, that it could happen.

Joel McHale's comments to Variety that he hasn't heard from Sony yet are somewhat surprising. Regardless, it's clear that McHale is getting just as caught up this Community craze as fans are. His former castmate Alison Brie hasn't been quiet about a Community film, as Brie has mentioned that not only does she want a movie, but she wants Netflix to produce it.

Now that the Joel McHale-starring series is streaming on Netflix, it makes even more sense for Netflix to create one. While the tide has risen and receded when it comes to a Community movie, fans have never given up hope. With the show being known for its goal of “six seasons and a movie,” Community fans have been anxiously awaiting the "movie" part. They also have a number of reasons for why the film deserves to happen and many already know what they want to see in such a project.

Community completed its six-season run in June 2015. During its first five seasons, the show aired on NBC but then finished out its sixth and final season on Yahoo! Screen.

While you figure out what episodes are the best ones to start with when you stream, there are other things to also consider. Will momentum finally build into an actual movie being produced? This isn't the first time news of film talks has surfaced and, at one point, director Justin Lin was even being pinned to potentially helm it.

Still, that was a few years ago, and a lot has happened since then. The cast of Community gone on to great things, and there is every reason to believe they will continue to do even more, but will that include a feature film of their hit cult comedy?

Well, the momentum is certainly swinging in the right direction. Netflix has been known to boost a series’ profile, and it's clearly doing that for Community. Since the series is getting such a warm reception as of late, the buzz should only continue to build around that potential movie. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend to learn if one gets off the ground.

You can currently stream every season of Community on Netflix, along with newly arrived 2020 content. While you wait to find out if a Community movie comes to fruition, you can check out this spring’s premieres.

Britt Lawrence

Like a contented Hallmark movie character, Britt happily lives in the same city she grew up in. Along with movies and television, she is passionate about competitive figure skating. She has been writing about entertainment for 5 years, and as you may suspect, still finds it as entertaining to do as when she began.