After much speculation, it appears the Community movie will have an important alum back in action for its film after all, as Donald Glover appeared to have confirmed that Troy Barnes, who he played from Season 1 to Season 5, will play a role in the movie.
Glover all but confirmed that Barnes will be back, although he appears to not know a whole lot of details regarding what kind of role Barnes will play. Since the movie itself is in the beginning stages, at this point, all that appears to be set in stone is that Barnes will return for the upcoming cinematic followup to the cult hit TV Show
While reflecting on his time on Community in an interview with GQ's YouTube Channel, Glover gave all the details he knows about Barnes' return in the upcoming movie. "There's some progress on it. We're supposed to be shooting it soon. (I) haven't seen the script, don't know, and in true Dan (Harmon) fashion, we'll probably get it on the first day... It's supposed to be happening, but I know just as much about it as you do." Through his nonchalance, Glover casually confirmed that he will be in the movie, and knows as many details as anyone in the fanbase does.
The important question to ask is how Troy will be re-integrated into the story. The last time the audiences saw Barnes, he boarded a ship on the "Childish Tycoon" alongside LeVar Burton. In the very next episode, a news report confirmed in the background that Barnes and Burton had been kidnaped by pirates in the Gulf of Mexico. Will the show go off of that, or will Barnes simply come back with no questions asked? Community had no limits to its creativity, so there are various ways in which it can re-introduce Troy into the cast. If the movie plans to bring back characters who were brought in following Barnes' departure, how will their dynamic work with him?
The biggest headline here is that Troy Barnes, who most fans agree was the show's best character, will be back for the movie, which is what many hoped for soon after the movie was announced. Barnes was essentially the glue of the show because while he provided that bridge between imagination and reality through both his friendship with the odd Abed Nadir and his connection with the rest of the group. His ability to play it straight in such ridiculous concepts is what made the show so much fun to watch when they found its footing. The show did fine after he left, but it was clear that there was a void without Troy around. With him back, fans should be feeling good about the movie capturing what the show did right.
But fans also have to consider that a movie is different format altogether compared to a show. While it's exciting to see Community back and fulfilling the #SixSeasonsAndAMovie prophecy, restoring something as good as Community was at its peak it's easier said than done. Shows like Firefly pulled this off but part of that was due to there not being much of a time gap between when the show was canceled and when the movie premiered in theaters. It may be a decade between when the Community movie premieres and when the show was canceled, so re-capturing that won't be easy. But getting Troy Barnes back is definitely a good start.
The Community movie will stream on Peacock.
Source: GQ/YouTube