Community: The Movie — Everything We Know About the Plot, Cast, Filming Delays and More
Community is poised to fulfill its #SixSeasonsAndAMovie prophecy.
Nearly two years have passed since Peacock gave the green light to Community: The Movie, but rest assured: the #SaveGreendale committee will reconvene at some point in the not-so-distant future.
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In a February 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, returning star Donald Glover let slip that the feature-length film is set at — what else? — a Greendale college reunion.
“[Series creator Dan 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,” Glover shared. “I’m like, ‘This sounds f—king tight.’”
Plot details were previously kept under wraps. At the time of the original announcement in September 2022, Peacock would only say that Community: The Movie derives from “the TV series that predicted its own movie,” making it “the least predictable movie of a TV series that referenced a lot of movies and TV.”
Harmon is writing the film with former series scribe Andrew Guest (whose credits include fan-favorite episodes “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” and “A Fistful of Paintballs”). They’ll executive-produce alongside Joel McHale, Russ Krasnoff and Gary Foster.
Scroll down to review everything we know about Community: The Movie, then hit the comments with your hopes for the highly anticipated film.
Who’s Returning for Community: The Movie?
◆ Joel McHale as Jeff Winger. After graduating in Season 4, Jeff took a job as Greendale’s law professor.
◆ Gillian Jacobs as Britta Perry. The psychology major was last employed as a bartender.
◆ Danny Pudi as Abed Nadir. In the series finale, the Cougar Town superfan moved to Los Angeles to work as a television production assistant.
◆ Yvette Nicole Brown as Shirley Bennett. Brown originally departed after Season 5, but returned for the Season 6 premiere and series finale.
◆ Alison Brie as Annie Edison. In the last episode, the forensics major left Colorado for a summer internship with the FBI.
◆ Donald Glover as Troy Barnes. Glover exited Community midway through Season 5, at which point Troy set sail with LeVar Burton aboard The Childish Tycoon. In the Season 5 finale, it was reported that Burton and his “non-celebrity companion” had been captured by pirates off the Gulf of Mexico.
◆ Jim Rash as Dean Craig Pelton.
◆ Ken Jeong as former Spanish professor Ben Chang.
Who’s Not Returning for Community: The Movie?
◆ Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne. Chase’s well-publicized exit took place during the series’ gas leak year (aka Season 4). He made a surprise cameo in Community‘s Season 5 opener, before Pierce was killed off two episodes later.
◆ John Oliver as Professor Ian Duncan. The Last Week Tonight host recurred in Seasons 1, 2 and 5. The final season premiere established that Duncan was still employed by Greendale, though he was never seen again.
◆ Jonathan Banks as Professor Buzz Hickey. The Breaking Bad star recurred in Season 5 only. Hickey was killed off in a Season 6 Easter egg.
◆ Keith David as Elroy Patashnik. The former scientist/inventor moved to California in the series finale to work at LinkedIn. (In a December 2022 interview with TVLine, David said, “as far as I know, when it happens, I’ll be there,” but his participation has not officially been confirmed.)
◆ Paget Brewster as Frankie Dart. The efficiency consultant was brought in to whip Greendale into shape. She was last seen having a drink with Jeff, Britta, Chang and Pelton in the series finale.
What Is Community: The Movie About?
According to Glover, Community: The Movie will see Jeff, Britta, Abed, Annie, Troy et al. come together for a college reunion. Abed, meanwhile, is now a big-time Hollywood director.
Further details are unknown, though Harmon previously ruled out such ideas as another paintball competition, a Dungeons & Dragons theme, or a scenario where Greendale has been closed for a decade (or even demolished).
When Is Community: The Movie Being Filmed?
Community: The Movie was initially set to shoot over the summer of 2023 but was delayed — first by the Writers Guild of America strike, then by the Screen Actors Guild strike.
“That was a bummer, because we were getting very close” to filming, McHale told TVLine in June 2023. “But at the same time, I’m a thousand billion percent behind the writers. The writers need to be paid.”
At the time, McHale affirmed that Community: The Movie is “still going to happen,” saying that “when this strike is over, we’ll come back and we’ll make it. And I am sure that 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.”
But as of Summer 2024, filming has not yet begun — presumably a result of McHale’s Fox comedy, Animal Control, rolling right into production on Season 3 following the end of Season 2.
“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,” McHale told GQ in July 2024. “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?”
When Is Community: The Movie Being Released?
Peacock has not announced a release date for Community: The Movie, though the earliest it can be expected is sometime in 2025.
Where Can I Watch Community: The Movie?
Community: The Movie will stream exclusively on Peacock. The original run of Community is currently available to stream on Peacock and Hulu.
LAST UPDATE: SUNDAY, AUG. 25, 2024
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