Joel McHale to play Chevy Chase in National Lampoon origin story

Joel McHale will play the part of Chevy Chase in an upcoming Netflix film about the co-founder of National Lampoon, according to Variety. Chase serves a pivotal role in the re-telling of the famous comedy magazine's early days — but more importantly, for fans of McHale's previous work on Community, the part represents a strange reunion of sorts with his former TV castmate.

Community, which starred both McHale and Chase, ran six seasons on NBC and Yahoo Screen. It was canceled last year, but Chase left the cast before the end of its fourth season due to frequent creative disputes. In 2013, after Chase confirmed his departure, McHale told Howard Stern that his co-star had even threatened to "physically fight" him on different occasions.

McHale and Chase won't be sharing the set of the Netflix project, at least. Called A Futile and Stupid Gesture, the film will star Will Forte (Saturday Night Live) and Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as National Lampoon's co-founders Douglas Kenney and Henry Beard. Chase, who starred in films like National Lampoon's Vacation and Caddyshack, was a friend of Kenney's, and was one of the last people to be with him prior to his death.