‘Community: The Movie’ Cast: Who’s Returning and Who’s Not?
Community fans received some good news this week as NBC Universal’s Peacock announced the popular comedy series will officially close out with a movie. Throughout the series’ six-year run, actors came and went from the show. Here’s what we know so far about who is returning and who is not.
Dan Harmon returns to write and executive produce the film
Community aired its pilot episode back in 2009. The sitcom created by Dan Harmon focuses on a group of friends attending Greendale Community College. Harmon was fired as showrunner after three seasons of working on Community but was re-hired for season 5. After NBC canceled the series, it was revived by Yahoo! Screen for a sixth and final season.
According to Deadline, Harmon will return to write and executive produce Community: The Movie. Some fans felt the series took a dip in quality without Harmon, who is known for his work on other shows such as Rick and Morty and Krapopolis.
‘Community: The Movie’ will bring back stars from the original series
Community: The Movie intends to bring back stars from the original series, according to Peacock’s press release. Joel McHale will return as Jeff Winger, a former lawyer who attended Greendale after being suspended by the state bar for lying about having a bachelor’s degree.
Several of Jeff’s classmates from the original study group will also be featured in Community: The Movie. According to the press release, Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs), Annie Edison (Alison Brie), and Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) are anticipated to appear in the movie.
Also returning for Community: the Movie is Jim Rash, who portrayed Greendale’s eccentric Dean Craig Pelton, and Kim Jeong, whose character Ben Chang had many roles throughout the show.
Some of the original study group won’t be coming back
Notably, several actors who portrayed members of the original study group aren’t mentioned in the press release for Community: The Movie. They include Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, and Yvette Nicole Brown.
Chevy Chase portrayed Pierce Hawthorne, an arrogant and ignorant millionaire who enrolled in Greendale out of boredom. According to ScreenRant, Chase and NBC agreed it would be best for him to leave the series after Chase became angry and used a racial slur while filming an episode 4 scene. Pierce was also killed off in the series.
Donald Glover left his role as Troy Barnes due to personal reasons. Glover had other projects he intended to focus on, including his music career as Childish Gambino. He has since created the series Atlanta, which aired its fourth and final season this year.
Finally, Yvette Nicole Brown, who played Shirley Bennett, doesn’t appear to be returning for the film. Brown’s character Shirley was a Christian mother who goes through a divorce in the show. According to ScreenRant, Brown left the series after season 5 to care for her sick father.
