Community‘s Joel McHale opens up about the current status of the long-awaited movie, shining a light on the movie’s three-year slow development and the status of the script. The cult sitcom created by Dan Harmon follows a study group of misfits at Greendale Community College and ran for six seasons across both NBC and Yahoo! Screen following a successful fan renewal campaign. Fulfilling the calls of Danny Pudi’s character Abed, a Community movie was confirmed to be in the writing stages by Harmon in 2021.
3 years since Harmon confirmed the development of the Community movie, McHale provides a much-needed update to the production’s status on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s On Me podcast. McHale confirms that the production has received an allocated budget and much of the core cast has committed to reprising their roles for the movie, stating that the 3-year delay had been due to a difficulty in aligning their schedules. Furthermore, McHale states he had seen a script penned by Harmon, though he hid its contents behind a joke. Check out McHale’s full response below:
Well, we got the money, which is one of the harder things to do. And everyone’s in, so that’s the other. It’s really coming down to schedules, and a script was written. So all that is real. And I know that we’ve been talking about it for literally years, but it will happen, and there’s just, you know, it’s just getting those schedules together… Yeah. I’m not going to tell you anything about it. I’ll just say, everybody dies.
Pre-Production Is Almost Complete
McHale’s statement reflects many previous comments made by the cast and those involved in the Community movie on what has delayed progress so far. The actor has been one of the more open cast mates in sharing updates ever since Harmon formally confirmed its development, sharing previous expected filming start dates and addressing how the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes forced a pause on the production. As such, his latest comments align with what he and Donald Glover have stated in the past.
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Furthermore, McHale is the latest Community star to confirm that the movie has a completed script, following on from Glover and Alison Brie. While McHale’s comments about a tragic ending are likely to be just a joke, Glover on the other hand has teased that the movie’s meta humor will be reflected through Abed’s directing career. With McHale confirming he too has read the script, it is likely that the current incarnation of it will ultimately be what audiences see put on screen.
The Movie’s Fate Is Still Secure
McHale’s comments clarifying the status of the Community movie may not shine too much on the actual content of the script, but are a welcome update. While schedules may not have aligned so far, confirmation that a budget had been allocated shows that Peacock is still invested in developing the movie. While viewership has undoubtedly grown in the 3 years since its initial announcement, many will be relieved that Abed’s promise of “Six seasons and a movie” being fulfilled is still an inevitability and be left wondering which other Community fan-favorite figures will return.
Source: Dinner’s On Me With Jesse Tyler Ferguson
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