LeVar Burton Has Better Things to Do Than Answer Questions About the ‘Community’ Movie

Who doesn’t love LeVar Burton? He was Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge, Kunta Kinte in the acclaimed ‘70s TV miniseries Roots and, of course, he taught generations of kids that reading is cool, so long as it’s on television.

This week, the Reading Rainbow host was presented with a National Humanities Medal, which “honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities,” for his “acting and literacy advocacy work.” The medal was presented to Burton during a private ceremony at the White House.

Despite the fact that he’s now been feted by the President of the United States, some people are still quizzing Burton about a silly show that once explored the corpo-humanization of the Subway empire.

TVLine recently sat down with Burton and, instead of asking him about, say, the state of child literacy in America, they tried to get him to offer up some juicy details about the long-gestating Community movie. As you may recall, Burton was Troy’s hero — the two first met in Season Two’s “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking.” It didn’t go so well. Troy was basically catatonic at the sight of his idol and couldn’t even manage to say a single word. 

When Donald Glover opted to leave the show, Troy opts to accept Pierce’s challenge and embark on a sailing trip around the world, and he does so with Burton as his mate — although a brief shot of a TV news ticker later states that Burton and his “non-celebrity companion” were “captured by pirates in the Gulf of Mexico.”

When asked if he would be reprising the role of “LeVar Burton” for Community: The Movie, Burton flatly responded: “Ask Dan Harmon.” He did, however, suggest that the reports of his abduction should be believed. “I don’t doubt it. That was the last we heard from them,” Burton coyly observed. “They’re on the Childish, as are the pirates, so we may need an update.”

Okay, can we stop asking LeVar Burton about this? For one thing, if Burton is in the movie, it’s likely going to be a surprise cameo that he wouldn't want to spoil. Also, he has better things to do right now. In addition to accepting prestigious awards from sitting presidents, he’s also going to be the host of the new Trivial Pursuit game show. Because Jeopardy!’s loss is the CW’s gain.

Let’s not drag Burton into the “When’s the Community movie happening?” hell that every cast member (except for Chevy Chase) is currently trapped in. 

Of course, Burton himself may not mind. He might just be happy to be fielding questions about Community instead of how warp core reactors, dilithium crystals, and holodecks work. 

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