Donald Glover seemingly confirms involvement in Community movie: “We’re shooting soon”

For almost a decade now, diehard Community fans have been wondering if Donald Glover will ever return as Troy Barnes. Not keeping the secret very well, it appears the actor just subtly announced his involvement in the upcoming movie before shooting gets underway.

For nearly four and a bit seasons Troy Barnes was a central character in NBC’s hit comedy series Community. Not only was he a vital part of the study group, but his friendship with Abed was a pillar of the show for many an episode.

Somewhat unceremoniously, however, Donald Glover departed the show during its fifth season before going on to become a Hollywood star as an actor and musician both. From his role as Lando Calrissian in 2018’s Solo to creating and starring in Atlanta, and of course, blossoming as a globally renowned artist known as Childish Gambino, there’s no denying he’s been busy since cutting ties.

But with years of rumors surrounding a potential Community movie, many often speculated if Glover would return for one last appearance to give the group a proper sendoff. Now that the prophecy is coming true and we’re actually getting a full-fledged film, it seems fans can now exhale, as Glover himself just all but confirmed his return as Troy.

“The Community movie, we’re supposed to be… there’s some progress on it,” Glover said during an April 4 conversation with GQ. Just from his phrasing alone, emphasizing ‘we’re,’ it appears he’s indeed heading back to Greendale Community College after all.

We’re supposed to be shooting it soon,” he continued. “I haven’t seen a script… don’t know. True [Dan Harmon] fashion, we’ll probably get it on the first day. But yeah, it’s supposed to be happening.”

Unconcerned with giving away the potential surprise, it seems Glover’s involvement in the Community movie is a sure thing. While production is clearly yet to start, he’s certainly in the know and must be blocking out time for it soon in his busy calendar.

Exactly what his return as Troy may involve, however, remains a mystery for now. It could be anything from a more subtle cameo to a proper featured role throughout the entire film, or anything in between. Though again, given his wording, it seems like Troy will appear prominently throughout to round out not only his time as the character, but to round out Community’s ‘six seasons and a movie’ prophecy once and for all.

Currently, there’s still no telling when exactly the Community movie may be released, though the latest comments pointed toward a 2023 debut. For now, Glover joked he knows “just as much about it as [we] do.”