For years, both the cast and the fans have screamed, "Six seasons and a movie!" whenever the topic of Community comes up. If what Dan Harmon just said is true, and there would be no reason for him to lie about this, it appears the classic tagline associated with the show has become prophetic.
In a recent interview with The Wrap, Harmon confirmed that a Community movie is in the works. After months of speculation, and directly after Alison Brie, who played Annie Edison, said that they were making progress with the movie, Harmon said that the movie is in the beginning stages but confirmed that there's no timetable
Harmon said they have a story planned, but it remains to be seen if they go with it when they start production. “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.” He also made it clear that there is no timetable for when the film will be completed.
“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.”
As much as fans want to see everyone's favorite Spanish study group return, for a movie to work, they are going to need all the elements back that made the show as good as it was. While those in the original cast who stayed until the end of the show have expressed interest in making a movie, it will also need the ones that weren't there for the duration of its entire run. That includes Donald Glover, who played Troy Barnes, John Oliver, who played Professor Ian Duncan, Yvette Nicole Brown, who played Shirley Bennett, and yes, even Chevy Chase, who played Pierce Hawthorne. They will also need the Russo brothers back again so that the production is executed flawlessly.
While that may sound like overkill, when Community was at its peak, it was one of the funniest shows ever made. Sadly, production problems like Harmon's firing after Season 3 and the departures of some of its main cast cut the show's prime shorter than it should have. When they lost any of its essential parts, the show got worse. It wasn't bad by any means following what it had lost, but it wasn't what it was before. Now that they're going to tackle the show with a full-length movie, they need everyone and everything back. Sure it would be hard for them to work around some things like Pierce being dead and whatnot, but knowing that Community didn't have many limits with its creativity, Harmon and co. should be given full trust that they'll figure something out.
Community getting to make the movie they've wanted to make for almost a decade after the show aired its final episode speaks volumes of the influence streaming services and the internet both have these days. While the show may have developed a cult following while it was on the air, that following didn't get as nearly strong as it would soon become had the show not been put on streaming services that allowed new fans to be introduced to it. Now fans will finally get that movie they've been begging for since 2015. The question is, will Harmon and co. have what it takes to bring Community's essence into a movie?
Community can currently be streamed on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Source: The Wrap