Joel McHale on Community movie: “Like a family reunion but without a-holes”

Joel McHale says "there will be tears" when he gets on set for the Community movie with his co-stars (minus Chevy Chase)

Joel McHale on Community movie: “Like a family reunion but without a-holes”
Photo: Jesse Grant

Buckle in folks, because this is how it’s going to be until the Community movie is in our hands: eagerly collecting any tidbit we can about the upcoming Peacock reunion in breathless anticipation. Can you blame us? The fulfillment of the six-seasons-and-a-movie prophecy is a joy not only for dedicated fans, but for the ex-NBC series’ cast as well.

“We announced it. Peacock is paying for it, thank you Peacock. So yeah, it’s happening and everybody’s back,” Joel McHale recently dished to The Wrap. McHale’s co-stars Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong have been confirmed for the film, with creator Dan Harmon suggesting Donald Glover and Yvette Nicole Brown are likely to join as well.

“I’m going to look a lot older. I’m not kidding, so you know that I’m sarcastic about about literally fucking everything but um, there will be tears,” McHale added. “We did that table read during the pandemic and I cried like a baby afterwards, and I’m not joking.”

“Everyone thinks that what I say is joking, but it is like being with—it really is like a family reunion but without a-holes,” he reflected. “Because you know, you go to a family you and you’re like, ‘Ugh, there’s that one cousin of mine. Eugh. He smells.’”

This appears to be shade more towards family reunions than former cast members. But one can’t help but note that Chevy Chase (whose character, at least, qualifies as the racist grandpa of this family reunion analogy) has not been confirmed for the film. His character, of course, died in the original series, and Harmon has indicated that bringing the actor back is out of his hands. McHale, meanwhile, has been fairly compassionate to his controversial co-star, and even played him in a movie after the show wrapped.

As for this movie, the ex-host of The Soup said he “can’t wait” to film. He wasn’t able to give any more details, beyond joking, “We’ve shot all three of them so far. We shot ‘em in New Zealand. Peter Jackson was the director. We shot ‘em in The Shire. I was a lot shorter, and it’s happening.” He kids, but an asshole-less Lord Of The Rings parody from the Community folks would undoubtedly be a masterpiece.

 
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