Since LeVar Burton is now on the 2024 TV schedule as host of the new game show Trivial Pursuit, here’s a little TV fun fact on our radars. Did you know the Star Trek: The Next Generation actor was a key part of Donald Glover’s final appearance on Community? Back in 2014, Burton cameoed when Troy Barnes said goodbye to Greendale to go off on a year-long sailing trip on the “Childish Tycoon.” As we get ready for the Community movie on the way, Burton was asked about being part of Glover’s return to the cast.
Yes, a Community movie is in the works after fans have been calling for the “six seasons… and a movie” tagline to become a reality for years. We know that the creator of Community, Dan Harmon, has written the film alongside Andrew Guest and much of the cast will return, including Donald Glover. Here’s what LeVar Burton said of another cameo a decade after his last one:
Ask Dan Harmon.
While LeVar Burton spoke to TVLine about the idea of another cameo in the Community movie, he left it up to the creator to make that decision. With that in mind, it sounds like the actor and new game show host hasn’t been approached about returning.
In the Season 5 episode “Geothermal Escapism,” the Community cast say goodbye to Donald Glover’s Troy by watching him leave on the “Childish Tycoon” with LeVar Burton by his side. While he keeps his cool when he boards the ship, in Troy’s final scene in the show, he pulls out a list of Star Trek questions for the actor to answer. In the following Season 5 episode, "Analysis of Cork-Based Networking" it’s then revealed that his boat was captured by pirates in the Gulf of Mexico. Burton said this when asked about whether that report was accurate:
I don’t doubt it. That was the last we heard from them. They’re on the Childish, as are the pirates, so… we may need an update.
When it comes to the Community ending, Troy’s storyline was definitely left with a fun cliffhanger. Wouldn’t it be fun if the upcoming movie followed it and had Troy and LeVar fighting pirates, or something of that sort? The Star Trek actor certainly thinks an “update” is in order for the cliffhanger, and now we’re just curious how Troy will return to the fold.
From what we’ve heard already, the Community movie will involve a college reunion, but will also have Abed being a big director who is ready to execute “his magnum opus.” So there has to be some Community-branded chaos in the storyline, right?
Some of the Community cast have already reunited this season on The Masked Singer when Yvette Nicole Brown went on the show for host and Community co-star, Ken Jeong. When she spoke to CinemaBlend about the reveal earlier this month, she talked about where Shirley might be now. Additionally, Joel McHale has made a few appearances this season on the reality show as well.
While we wait for more updates on the Community movie (which does not have a release date currently), you can stream the series in its entirety with a Peacock subscription.
