For years, fans of the beloved cult favorite comedy series Community have had one goal for the hilarious underdog of a series: six seasons and a movie. And recently, it looked like the final bit of that goal (the movie) was in reach. In September last year, Peacock announced that the Community movie was in the works. However, in a recent interview with Collider‘s own Tania Hussain, series star, and lead of the upcoming film, Joel McHale revealed that production on the project would most likely be delayed due to the ongoing WGA writer’s strike.

Community originally premiered on NBC in 2009. The series, which follows the exploits of one hodge-podge community college study group, quickly became a cult favorite. However, the series struggled to maintain a consistent audience thanks to shifts from the abrupt exit of creator Dan Harmon in the fourth season and frequent scheduling changes for the series. The series stopped airing on NBC after its fifth season and was picked back up by Yahoo! Screen for a sixth and final season. The ‘six season and a movie’ promise originated from a Season 2 episode called “Paradigms of Human Memory”, in which Abed, a fan favorite media-savvy character, makes clear his wishes for a clearly doomed NBC series called The Cape. Fans took Abed’s wish from there, and have set it as a goalpost for the series to accomplish.

Who is Coming Back for the Movie?

The original series starred Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong, Chevy Chase, and Jim Rash. Much of the series’ original cast has gone on to have massively successful careers. Donald Glover, who recently confirmed his involvement in the upcoming project, has since become a series creator in his own right, making the massively successful Atlanta for FX and Swarm for Prime Video. Brie, for her part, has worked on many film and television projects after the end of Community, including the Netflix fan favorite Glow. You can find a run-down of all the known details regarding who is coming back for the upcoming film here.

How Will the Ongoing Strike Impact Filming?

McHale, for his part, has continued to work on comedic projects for both film and television. In a recent interview with Collider regarding his new series Animal Control, McHale gave ua the inside scoop on the long-awaited movie, and how it will be impacted by the ongoing WGA strike. Regarding his stance on the strike, McHale held firm that he supports the efforts of those involved saying, “I don’t say this lightly, but I stand with the WGA, and there’s no doubt that pay has gone down 23% since 2007, and that needs to change.”

He also noted, however, that the strike will impact ongoing and upcoming projects, including the Community movie. He noted that he isn’t “…exactly sure” how the strike will impact the project at this point. However, he continued, “I’m guessing it’s not going to start on time.”

If Community fans are used to anything, however, it’s waiting. And regardless of when the project begins filming, it is certainly something to look forward to.

via Collider