After years of speculation, Community creator Dan Harmon has officially confirmed that "six seasons and a movie" is about to become a reality. The movie has been outlined and pitched, and a production team has already been put together including Harmon as executive producer and writer, and the series star Joel McHale also stepping up to an executive producer role. But the biggest question is which cast members will be returning.
Community's premise began with disgraced lawyer Jeff Winger (McHale) having to return to community college where he creates a study group with six other misfits. The sitcom ran from 2009 to 2015, with some major cast and crew changes throughout the six seasons. Harmon was fired from the show after season 3, leading to the downfall in quality of season 4's "gas-leak year". Three study group members, Glover, Brown, and Chase, also left before the show's end-- although new characters were brought in, their absences were keenly felt within the show.
The phrase, "six seasons and a movie", first spoken within the show, became a rallying cry for Community fans who wanted to see more of the beloved characters at Greendale Community College. As of now, it's not known if supporting characters such as Ian Duncan (John Oliver), Elroy Patashnik (Keith David), Buzz Hickey (Jonathan Banks), or Frankie Dart (Paget Brewster) will be returning. Here are the main cast members who will definitely be reprising their roles.
Jeff Winger - Joel McHale
McHale has enthusiastically announced his involvement in the upcoming film on social media, which is a relief because it would be difficult to imagine Community without Jeff. Despite Jeff's terrible behavior at Greendale, he was the sleazy yet charismatic glue of the group, who resolved their conflicts and was somehow often the voice of reason for his friends. By the end of the series, Jeff had given up on his dreams of returning to a law career and instead became a teacher at Greendale. In the final episode, he faced anxiety at the prospect of an uncertain future where he was the last of his friends left at Greendale. Also, in a display of emotional maturity, he confessed his love to Annie but accepted the fact that he had to let her go.
Annie Edison - Alison Brie
Alison Brie will be returning as Annie Edison. Annie, the youngest of the study group, was also the most ambitious and the most anxious member. After initially graduating to work in a pharmaceutical company, Annie re-enrolled at Greendale in order to obtain a Forensics degree. She formed part of the Save Greendale Committee with her friends, then in the season finale, she revealed that she had accepted an F.B.I. internship. It's likely that in the movie, Annie will return as a full F.B.I. agent. The movie may also continue to develop Jeff and Annie's romantic relationship.
Abed Nadir - Danny Pudi
Danny Pudi is confirmed to be coming back as Abed Nadir the media-obsessed member of the study group. He was the source of much of the series' characteristic meta-comedy, leading to theories that Abed knew he was on a TV show. By the end of the show, he was a Film graduate who got a job as a TV production assistant at a California studio. Through his relationship with his friends, especially his best friend, Troy, and later his romantic relationship with Rachel (Brie Larson), Abed saw a lot of character growth throughout the series and the movie should continue to explore this.
Britta Perry - Gillian Jacobs
Gillian Jacobs will return as Britta Perry. Britta was often called "the worst" due to her ditzy, anarchist personality. She had dreams of becoming a psychologist but ended up working as a bartender after graduating from Greendale. In the final season, after intervention from her parents, Britta was invited to move in with Annie and Abed. Britta's character changed a lot throughout the show and she ended up as one of the last members of the Save Greendale Committee left behind in the finale.
Ben Chang - Ken Jeong
Ken Jeong is set to reappear as Ben Chang, the erratic Spanish teacher, turned security guard, turned Math teacher and Save Greendale Committee member. Despite his wacky shenanigans, Chang was slowly accepted by the study group. In the final season, Chang briefly became an internet sensation and Hollywood actor, but his antics eventually led him back to Greendale where, in the final episode, Chang tells his friends that he's gay.
Jim Rash - Craig Pelton
Jim Rash will also come back as Greendale's Dean, Craig Pelton. The flamboyant Dean was most known for intruding on the study group with his many costumes and puns. He regularly struggled to keep control of the school, letting it devolve into chaos, such as with the reoccurring Greendale paintball games. In the final season of Community, the Dean continued to try to hold his school together as he staved off attacks from their rival, City College, and briefly joined the school board.
Will Donald Glover & Yvette Nicole Brown Return For The Community Movie?
Donald Glover's Troy Barnes and Yvette Nicole Brown's Shirley Bennett both left before Community's sixth-season finale. They were both tagged in McHale's movie announcement but neither are confirmed to be coming back. Brown left the show in order to take care of her sick father. In the final season, she was a Business graduate who owned her own sandwich shop and became a personal chef to a private investigator. Despite her absence for most of the season, she made a cameo in the Community series finale, so it would make sense for her to appear again in the movie.
Glover left at the start of season 5 to pursue other opportunities in acting and music. Glover's success since leaving Community means that whether he returns may depend on his schedule with other projects. His character received an inheritance from Pierce that saw him leave Greendale on a sailing voyage around the world with LeVar Burton. Later, there was a news report that LeVar Burton and his "non-celebrity companion" had been captured by pirates. Glover has previously stated that he thinks the study group coming together to rescue Troy from pirates could be a good plot for a Community movie.
Why Chevy Chase Probably Won't Be In The Community Movie
Chevy Chase played Pierce Hawthorne, the old, bigoted member of the study group. He was a student at Greendale for thirteen years and in his last appearance on the show in the season five premiere, it was revealed that he had built a Gender Sensitivity and Sexual Potency museum on the Greendale campus. Pierce died off-screen but left personalized gifts for his Greendale study group, including the characteristically inappropriate gifts of frozen sperm. Because of his death, it's unlikely that there'll be a way for Chase to return in the movie. Additionally, there was some tension between the actor and the rest of the Community cast and crew behind the scenes, which also led to Pierce's departure.