Joel McHale's A Futile and Stupid Gesture To Chevy Chase In Netflix 'National Lampoon' Biopic

After co-starring with Chevy Chase in the first five seasons of Community, it seems actor and comedian Joel McHale is ready to play the legendary star on Netflix! The streaming giant is prepping a National Lampoon behind-the-scenes story called A Futile and Stupid Gesture, revolving around the film series' co-founder Douglas Kenney.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, McHale is currently in final talks to play his former co-star in the film, which will serve as both an origin story for the National Lampoon Magazine and the movies that followed, plus and a biopic for Kenney, one of the most iconic men in comedy in the late 1970s who died tragically at age 33.

Aside from McHale, Will Forte will be playing the role of the comedy writer, while Star Wars: The Force Awakens actor Domhnall Gleeson will take the role of Lampoon co-founder Henry Beard.

The Wrap reports that John Gemberling, best known for playing Bevers in Broad City, will be embodying another tragic comedy star from that period: John Belushi.

Behind the scenes, so far the names involved are David Wain (who penned Wet Hot American Summer and its 2015 miniseries Netflix revival) as director, who'll be working from a script co-written by Michael Colton and John Aboud.

The film's story will be based on Josh Karp's 2006 book A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever, a compilation of interviews from people involved in the National Lampoon Magazine over the course of decades.

With such a star-studded cast, it's unclear what are Netflix's exact plans for the film, which will seemingly be presented as a drama regarding some of the funniest people of the past 50 years. It seems likely that the project is presented more like a small release in theaters than a television movie, much like last year's award-winning Beasts of No Nation.