Community movie got "very close" to filming, but one star's schedule caused a delay: "We don't want to do an Arrested Development Netflix season situation"

Community movie co-writer and executive producer Andrew Guest is offering an update on the film's status, and it's a bit of a mixed bag for fans. Though Guest confirms the intent to make the Community movie is still in place, an opportunity to start filming the long-awaited spin-off of the fan favorite comedy sitcom passed them by due to unforeseen circumstances.

"We got very close to shooting that," Guest tells The Watch podcast. "As the writer strike and actor strikes were ending, all of our cast were available. All of them wanted to do it. We had a line producer. We had a script that we were in the process of starting to rewrite. And one of our actors' projects sort of came into conflict in terms of timing. I don't want to single that person out because people will shame them - you know the Community fan base. And please, Community fan base, do not be upset with any of these people."

Just about all of the original cast is signed on for the Community movie, including Joel McHale (Jeff Winger), Danny Pudi (Abed Nadir), Alison Brie (Annie Edison), Gillian Jacobs (Britta Perry), Jim Rash (Dean Pelton), Ken Jeong (Ben Chang), Yvette Nicole Brown (Shirley Bennett), and Donald Glover (Troy Barnes). The only lead member of the original cast not signed on for the film is Chevy Chase, whose character Pierce Hawthorne was previously killed off when Chase left the show.

"It's hard because they're all incredibly talented and very busy, partly because of Community," Guest continues. "But we don't want to do an Arrested Development Netflix season situation where we're shooting some people totally apart. The fun and energy of that show is the chemistry between these people in the same room, around a table. So we have to have them all in the same place."

Community originally ran from 2009-2015, with major changes in the cast for the final season. Throughout, the show had a meta gag in which pop culture obsessed Abed would call for "six seasons and a movie" of his favorite shows. With six seasons under its belt, fans are anxiously awaiting the fulfillment of the last part of the mantra.

While we wait for more news on the Community movie, check out our list of all the most exciting upcoming movies you need to know about.