Community Movie: Everything You Need to Know

Fans of Community have spent years calling for the beloved TV show to live up to its mantra: Six Seasons and a Movie. The phrase became a calling card for the Community faithful, as well as the cast and crew, during the latter half of its run on TV. After being nearly cancelled every season (and actually cancelled between seasons five and six), the show’s fans wanted to prove that it had enough of a following to warrant all six installments and a feature film.

Well, the six seasons have already happened, with the final installment coming from Yahoo! rather than NBC. But what about the movie? The cast and crew have teased the movie for years since Community ended but nothing has really come to fruition. That said, the way they talk about the Community movie has started to change now that the show is streaming on Netflix.

Since arriving on Netflix earlier this month, Community has become an extremely popular option for streamers searching for new content. It has found itself in the Netflix TV Top 10 more often than not. Community is picking up steam once again, and the team behind the show seems more confident than ever that it will actually happen.

Netflix could be the place to give Community a feature length film, which would make sense given its popularity on the site. Sony could also try and release it in theaters or on another service. It’s really a mystery at this point how the movie will come about. One thing is for sure, though: The cast and crew of Community are ready to make it happen.

Take a look below at what everyone involved with Community has said about the movie lately. With the way they’re talking, it’s hard not to believe that the feature film is coming sooner, rather than later.

Danny Pudi Believes it Will Happen

“Better today than it was yesterday,” Pudi told ComicBook.com of the movie’s chances. “You know what? It’s funny, because we’ve all been texting this week. I was talking to Gillian [Jacobs] yesterday, I was on Ken [Jeong] and Joel [McHale]’s podcast the other day, I texted with [director] Justin Lin recently about all this, because everyone’s been re-watching it again.”

“It’s just fun to see that joy return,” he continued. “It’s been a while, but so many of the people have gone on and have done amazing things since then. But we’re all connected to this little world. We’re all connected to Greendale, this little show that somehow managed to get six seasons done. I think it will always hold a special place in our hearts. I believe [the movie] will happen. I don’t know when, but I believe it’ll happen.”

What Story Could They Tell?

A lot of the cast is down for the movie, so getting them won’t be the hard part. What will be difficult, however, is nailing down what to do with just two hours of content.

“I think most of us have been thinking more and more fondly of it, especially as the days have gone by,” Pudi said. “I just think it would be so fun. We just have to figure out, what are we going to do? Is it going to be paintball? Is it going to be a giant blanket fort? Is it going to be, I don’t know, a different space bus? Who knows? The show went to so many crazy places. I think the challenging part would be, how are we going to make this a movie now?”

Joe Russo Backs the Idea

“We’d certainly be willing to do it. We love our Community family,” Russo told Collider. “That cast, we’re all still very close to all of them. It’d certainly be schedule-depending for us. But I believe there will be a Community movie, especially now that it’s doing so well on streaming. Someone like Netflix could step up and make that movie.”

“I don’t think you’d want to see it with a really big budget,” he continued. “Part of what is so compelling about the show is that it’s very quaint, it’s Greendale as an underdog. I don’t think you’d want to suddenly execute it with crazy high production value and set design. Unless we were going somewhere fantastical or doing one of our genre exploration concepts. But I think you’d easily pull that movie off for a budget.”

Joel McHale Says There Is More Conversation Than Ever Before

“There are way more grumblings than there used to be,” McHale said during an Instagram Live interview. “I know that Alison [Brie] Instagrammed or tweeted that she got a phone call from Sony. And they still haven’t called me, maybe Matthew Lillard will take over.

“There’s a better chance than there’s ever been, and Donald [Glover] will be very available and totally affordable. I would say, for a long time I was like, ‘Never gonna happen,’ and now with the renewed interest, and I know the cast is interested, that it could happen. And if we could finally get Steve Carell than we’re gonna be thrilled.”

Dan Harmon Has Kicked Ideas Around

Harmon told Independent that he’d been tossing ideas around for the movie, which means that conversation are probably being had. 

“Certainly ideas have been kicked around,” he said. “I think we can anticipate it’s going to be most difficult to get Donald to leap back into the role of this thing he probably associates with creative puberty – but I’m sure it’s not out of a lack of love for the show that he’d be hard to get back. I think pretty much everybody else is good to go and although we do have some concepts of how we would frame a return to that world, I thankfully believe the cast is willing to do it for the sake of doing it. They love each other and miss being together. I think time makes everyone look back and realise what a blessing that show was in everybody’s life.”

Would Everyone Return?

Provided the movie does happen, the big question will surround the cast itself. Would everyone come back for a movie? It’s a tough question because some people left the series before it was finished.

Chevy Chase won’t be back for the film, in addition to rumors of problems behind the scenes, his character was killed off at the start of Season 5. Yvette Nicole Brown made her exit ahead of the final season, but she has been clear over the years that she left for personal reasons and would absolutely return for a movie. Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Ken Jeong, and Jim Rash have all expressed interest in reprising their roles.

The lone wild card is Donald Glover. It’s no secret that Glover’s career has skyrocketed since he left Community, winning awards for his work on TV as well as his records as Childish Gambino. While the other members of the cast remain close to Glover, and there don’t appear to be any hard feelings that led to his exit, he would likely have the hardest time fitting the film into his schedule. 

The movie could happen sans Troy Barnes, and that appears to be the outcome many are expecting. That said, there isn’t reason to rule out Glover’s return until it’s confirmed by Harmon, the actor, or Sony.

Yvette Nicole Brown Thinks the Movie Is Inevitable

“As an actor, you always hope you’ll get to be part of something that resonates and matters,” Brown told Independent. “Community changed my life. It changed the trajectory of my career and what I believed was possible for me as a black woman on television. There was a ‘before Community’ and an ‘after Community’ and everything I’ve been blessed to do since has been because of the wonderful foundation that show laid for me. There’s definitely more story to tell. I think a movie is inevitable.”