Summary
The upcomingCommunitymovie has been building up anticipation for its release since before the creators even confirmed it, and now one fan-favorite star has given fans an update on the project’s progress following prior news of some delays.
Created and spearheaded by creative Dan Harmon,Communityhad a great six-season run between its premiere in 2009 and the final season airing in 2014. It saw great success with its large ensemble central cast and the blend of meta-humor and pop culture references, and talk of a film based on the show started to pop up after the conclusion of season five. After the conclusion of the series, Harmon and several members of the cast would express serious interest in making a feature-lengthCommunityproject in tandem with fans eager for more content from that universe. While there was a large amount of time where fans were hard-pressed to tellwhether or not theCommunitymovie was actually happening, it would be confirmed to be in the green by Harmon in 2021
Despite confirmation that it was indeed happening, progress on the project hasn’t exactly been without its bumps, including therecent WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes torpedoing plans to get started on filmingearly on. However, fans have recently gotten a bit more news about the project, courtesy of Yvette Nicole Brown. Brown, who played Shirley Bennett on the show, recently gave an interview atTheWrapfollowing her participation inThe Masked Singerand made out some time to discuss the state of things concerning theCommunitymovie. “I think it’s being reworked, but we all have read an entire, full script. So a script exists. I heard that we have the big credit in LA that gives you money to make the film. So we’re definitely going to be doing it in LA,” Brown revealed. “It’s just now trying to get all these puzzle pieces together of everybody’s schedule. We were scheduled to do it, and then the strike happened,” Brown explained of the delays. “And now it’s like trying to figure out when is so-and-so done with their show? When is so-and-so done with their movie? When is so-and-so off tour? It’s all of those things that we’re trying to now get together, but it’s going to happen. We are going to do the movie, and we’re all on board to do it.”
Brown also discussed the nature of the material that she’d already seen up to that point, praising it while reiterating that it was all subject to improvement during the rework process. “It’s ‘Community’ script. It’s really funny, it’s very irreverent, it’s silly. A lot of it’s probably going to change. You know, Dan Harmon is always — Dan Harmon and Andrew Guess are our writers, and they’re always thinking and moving and incorporating things,” Brown remarked. “And so, for a minute, I wasn’t confirmed, so they have to now change some things, because I am confirmed, and they can now change some things for Shirley’s character as well,” she continued. “So it’s going to be really, it’s going to be a good time.” This creative process seems to reflect what Brown already experienced on set for the show, which got even more appreciation when it was announced that the show wasleaving Netflix earlier this year.
While any news is appreciated, the update isn’t entirely encouraging for fans, considering thatCommunitystars were noted as clearing schedules to begin filming in 2023. The script being reworked to any extent could mean more long, unspecified wait times until things kick off again in earnest. Fans will have to hang in there for a time longer, but they can take consolation in the fact that the cast of the show is equally eager to return for them as well. Once Harmon manages to come up with a version of the script that everyone is satisfied with, it won’t take too long past that point for things to solidify.
From the attitude shown by Brown recently and others in the past, it’s clear thatJoel McHale was right to call theCommunitymovie a dream come truefor those who worked on the series, and that attitude is the same for fans. No matter how long it takes to get everything to work just so, there’s going to be a strong amount of support for the community movie when it finally hits screens just as long as Harmon and company can bring the show’s unique charm to this new medium.
