After finally finishing the script for the Community film, creator Dan Harmon and co-writer Andrew Guest were thrown a curveball: the WGA strike.

According to star Joel McHale, the snag occurred just as creator Dan Harmon was negotiating with the appropriate director for the picture.

“We had a shooting date coming up, which was going to be in the summer,” McHale explained to Variety.

“And I think they were extremely close to — I mean, Dan is somebody that tweaks things, but, obviously, that’s all stopped. But I think it was pretty darn close. It was close, the shoot date was coming up, and we were all excited to do it, and then the writer’s strike happened, which obviously put everything on hold, and rightfully so. The writers are asking for very reasonable things. Writers need to be paid properly.”

The project’s creators and cast are striking in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America and the rest of the writing community.

Negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) remain unresolved after Harmon, McHale, and other members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike for a month. The strike, which was triggered by problems such as AI and streaming residuals, has hampered the pace of the “Community” film, which was expected to begin production on Peacock this summer.

Prior to the strike, negotiations with potential directors had taken hold, but no final decision had been made, and production schedules had grown questionable.

Except for Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, and Yvette Nicole Brown, all primary cast members had been announced to return. Chase’s absence is confirmed, owing to his previous disagreements with co-stars and Harmon.

Despite the strike’s setback, McHale shares Harmon’s confidence in the filmmaker’s ability to rally the cast for the widely awaited Community film.