Joel McHale says ‘Community’ movie production may be delayed due to writers strike

It was April 2011 when Danny Pudi’s beloved character Abed Nadir first exclaimed the line “six seasons and a movie” while running away from Joel McHale’s Jeff Winger, having just swooped his lunch off a table while hyping up the debut of The Cape. The infamous line became a warcry for Community fans, and it indeed succeeded in manifesting the show’s fate for the next decade.

While it’s been an excruciatingly lengthy eight year wait for the “…and a movie” part of the prophecy to be fulfilled, Community fans were overjoyed at the news that the long-awaited film would begin shooting sometime this year. However, as a result of the ongoing Writer’s Guild strike, we may need to wait just that little bit longer, according to series lead Joel McHale. 

In an interview with Collider promoting McHale’s latest series Animal Control, the actor weighed in on the strike, saying he is 100% behind writers petitioning for better pay. In a follow-up question as to whether or not it would affect the Community movie, McHale more or less confirmed our worst fears, telling the publication he’s “guessing it’s not going to start on time.” 

While it’s certainly upsetting to hear that the movie we’ve all been patiently waiting for may take a little longer to get off the ground, it’s important to remember that without well-compensated writers, we end up with a subpar final film or television show. We’ve waited eight years, what’s a few more months? 

Another project that has been impacted by the writer’s strike so far is Yellowjackets, with more almost certain to follow in the coming days and weeks. Aside from McHale, stars such as Mark Hamill, Rob Lowe, and Brett Goldstein have all been vocal in supporting the writers currently picketing.