Joel McHale Says A ‘Community’ Movie Is More Likely Than Ever

Joel McHale gave an update on whether a film based on the popular NBC sitcom Community would ever happen. Created by Dan Harmon, Community ran for six seasons and proved to be massively popular with a dedicated fan base and cast who look back on the series with great fondness. Last year, the main cast of Community held a reunion for a table read through the Zoom app.

The thought of a Community movie has been around since the show had its first season, with the character of Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) constantly referencing the concept of Community having six seasons and a movie. McHale is perhaps best known for portraying the lead character Jeff Winger, a snarky and condescending former lawyer who is forced to attend Greendale Community College to finally get his degree after his fraudulent academic credentials were originally exposed.

“If you asked me one year ago before the table read, I would have lied to you and said ‘absolutely,” he told Looper. “But in the back of my mind, I’m always [thinking], ‘That’s a hard hurdle to get over. We sure don’t have a shoot date, and I don’t think there’s a script. With every movie you need money. If they pay everybody $50 million apiece, we’re going to be fine everyone’s on board.”

McHale has said that there is more hope than ever for the Community movie thanks to the show’s popularity on Netflix. “With the success on Netflix how it’s gotten to this brand-new life, I think there’s more possibility than ever,” he said.

If the Community movie were to ever happen, most of the cast has stated that they would be willing to come back, including Donald Glover who portrayed the childlike former jock Troy Barnes and left during the show’s fifth season. However, one notable former cast member who will likely not return is Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne. The actor famously had an intense feud with Harmon behind the scenes and rocky relationship a majority of with his fellow cast members. Chase’s character was eventually killed off following the actor’s departure from the show following the fourth season.