Joel McHale shared a very rare update on the Community movie (Picture: Getty)

Joel McHale has teased the upcoming Community film, revealing that filming will kick off later this year.

Fans were beside themselves with joy last September when it was announced that we were finally getting our hands on a spin-off flick, meaning Abed Nadir’s (Danny Pudi) ‘six season and a movie’ pleas had come true.

Since then, details have been thin on the ground regarding the Glendale gang, and when their big-screen adventure would be released.

Shedding some light on the plans, the 51-year-old – who played Jeff Winger – confessed that the cast are still in shock over the developments.

‘We’re planning on shooting it this summer,’ he told the New York Post. ‘I know the outline for the script [and] it’s on track now to happen. Peacock has given us the money.

‘We still are all kind of like, “Can you believe this is actually happening?”’

Joel played Jeff Winger in the beloved sitcom (Picture: NBC)

Community followed the antics of a study group at Glendale Community College as they unwittingly caused chaos, engaged in the odd paintball war and occasionally went to class.

The comedy, also starring Donald Glover, Joel McHale, Yvette Nicole Brown, Chevy Chase, Alison Brie and Gillian Jacobs, ran for six series between 2009 and 2015.

Since the sitcom ended, viewers have been vocal in their demands for a spin-off movie, with their pleas finally being answered last year.

Not all of the Community gang will be back for the adventure (Picture: NBC)

Joel, Alison, Danny and Gillian will be reprising their roles, beside Jim Rash and Ken Jeong, who played Dean Pelton and Ben Chang respectively – but it is not clear whether Chevy, Donald and Yvette will be returning to the halls of Glendale for more chaos.

Ahead of the release, creator Dan Harmon spoke of what we could expect from the supersized outing, admitting that two of the most beloved tropes will not be making an appearance.

Speaking on Six Seasons and a Podcast in December, he said: ‘It’s a lot easier for me to rule stuff out than tell you what we’re pursuing.

‘For instance, we go, “Do we really think it’d be a good idea for the Community movie to be a paintball episode?”

‘It’s one of the first things to rule out because it’s the first thing off the top of your head, and that’s an issue with the Community movie concept. How can we do that in a way that’s acceptable?

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‘You sit down to write the movie and you’re like, “So, we’d do that, right?” Because it’s so emblematic of what made our show special and the triumphs that we had – the things that we contributed as a show.

‘Or we’d play Dungeons & Dragons for 90 minutes. I’ve kind of got to rule that out – maybe a better writer wouldn’t.’

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Six seasons and a movie!