Dan Harmon has added further legitimacy to Alison Brie’s recent comments that “there are legitimate conversations that are happening” regarding the long-gestating Community movie. Since the sixth season of the beloved comedy series ended in 2015, fans have been asking “where’s the movie?!”
Harmon made something of a rod for his own back during Community’s run by stating his aim that it would run for six-seasons-and-a-movie. It was touch-and-go whether it would even make it to the sixth season, as there was a cancellation, a change of network and more problems that beset the series.
However, there is hope for fans of the series, which starred Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Donald Glover, Gillian Jacobs, Chevy Chase and Yvette Nicole Brown (alongside Brie) as members of a community college study group. Harmon told The Wrap; “I’ll confirm what Alison said which is that legitimacy is here, conversations and agreements are happening. There’s a story – who knows if we’ll end up sticking to it, but it was something we had to compile in order to take it out and court various venues. And now negotiations happen.”
Coincidentally, Harmon was speaking while promoting the sixth season of Rick and Morty, but given the popularity of that animated series, it will probably continue to run on and on.
Harmon has issued a warning that this does not necessarily mean that the movie is happening soon; “Now, I say that with such caution, because sometimes the audience is like, ‘So that means what a year, two years?’ I could have said what I just said three years ago and it would have been almost as accurate, and can you imagine if I had said that three years ago? That’s me setting people up for three years of abusive neglect and making them feel forgotten, and it’s hard enough to just say nothing.”
“When you put the percentage chances together it’s like you have to account for maybe the world blowing up or another virus happening. But as far as the industry is concerned, this is a matter of when and not if, for sure.”
Of the main cast-members, Chase and Glover seem the least likely to return, but Glover did return for a read-through in 2020. It also seems unlikely that a Community movie would get a theatrical release, but you never know.
While we wait to hear more, check out our guide to the best comedy movies.