Community movie up in the air due to Hollywood actors’ strike, suggests Dan Harmon

An indefinite delay might be looming

Dan Harmon has expressed concern over the Community movie, amid widespread delays to film and TV projects following the Hollywood writers’ strike.

In September 2020, the sitcom creator announced that a film spin-off was in production, with castmembers Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong all set to return.

It was later annoucned that Donald Glover would reprise his role, with Yvette Nicole Brown now also officially confirmed to return.

However, Harmon is worried that the long-gestating project will be hit with an indefinite delay due to the ongoing actors’ strike, which is being led by SAG-AFTRA. Hollywood stars are striking over a range of issues, from the use of AI to residual payments.

“By the time we can recoordinate, what are the odds that everyone’s schedule is going to once again align?” he told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview on Monday (2 October).

Harmon revealed that, to secure the return of Glover, he decided to relocate production from Los Angeles to Atlanta, where the actor is currently working on several high-profile projects. He said Glover was “stoked” by this decision.

“Because the thing that’s going to matter most to me as an audience member or to anybody who loved that show is seeing those people see each other,” Harmon said, adding: “And they still love each other, and it’s not going to feel the same if you’re shooting them separately at different months in different locations.”

Last month, Chevy Chase, who turned down the chance to reprise his role of Pierce Hawthorne, issued a damning criticism of Community, as well as his scenes with his co-stars, during an appearance on WTF with Marc Maron.

Chase appeared as a main cast member in the first four seasons, returning for a guest role in the fifth. The sitcom, which originally aired on NBC, ran for six seasons from 2009 to 2015.