Community fans got their wish in 2022 when Peacock ordered a movie follow-up for the comedy series.
Since the announcement, there have been few updates about the project, and, as expected, the project is on hold due to the Writers Guild Strike.
Series star Joel McHale opened up to TV Line while promoting Crime Scene Kitchen.
“That was a bummer, because we were getting very close,” he told the outlet.
“But at the same time, I’m a thousand billion percent behind the writers. The writers need to be paid.”
The actor confirmed the project is on hold but will still happen when the time is right.
“When this strike is over, we’ll come back and we’ll make it.”
“And I am sure that [series creator] Dan [Harmon] will put in 12 jokes addressing the fact it took [this long to come together],” McHale said.
“But we’ll get there. It just may take a little while.”
When the Community movie was announced, McHale was confirmed to be returning alongside Danny Pudi as Abed Nadir and Alison Brie as Annie Edison.
Also returning is Gillian Jacobs as Britta Perry, Jim Rash as Dean Craig Pelton, and Ken Jeong as former Spanish professor Ben Chang.
Yvette Nicole Brown, Donald Glover, Chevy Chase, John Oliver, Jonathan Banks, Keith David, and Paget Brewster are not expected to return.
“‘Six seasons and a movie’ started out as a cheeky line from Community’s early seasons and quickly ignited a passionate fan movement for this iconic, hilarious and cool (cool, cool) NBC comedy,” NBC Universal Television’s Chairman of Entertainment Susan Rovner said in a statement in September.
“We’re incredibly grateful that 15 years later, we are able to deliver fans this promised movie and can’t wait to get to work with Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest, Joel McHale, Sony and our partners at UTV to continue this epic comedy for Peacock audiences.”
“Community was light years ahead of its time when it premiered on NBC in 2009 and we are thrilled to once again visit the brilliant minds of Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest and this impeccable cast,” said Sony co-president Jason Clodfelter.
“We are grateful to Peacock, our partners at UTV and to all the zealous fans who have cherished this iconic show.”
Community aired on NBC before being canceled after five seasons, but the show moved to Yahoo TV for one final season.
Knowing that the movie will be brought to life when the time is right is nice.
What are your thoughts on the delay?
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.