Before directing some of the most popular and highest-grossing movies of all time, Joe and Anthony Russo created the NBC sitcom Community, which ran for six seasons, five on NBC and one on the now-defunct Yahoo! Screens, and won a Primetime Emmy Award.
But the Russo Brothers didn’t lose touch with their roots after making the leap to the big screen. They made a game of inserting Community cast members into their Marvel movies, including two in the second-highest-grossing film of all time, Avengers: Endgame.
Toward the beginning, Ken Jeong (Chang on Community) appeared as a security guard at the warehouse where Scott Lang’s van was in storage. Then later, when Tony and Cap travel back to the ’70s, their cover is almost blown by a military office worker played by Yvette Nicole Brown, who portrayed Shirley on Community.
But believe it or not, Brown didn’t even know she was in Endgame! She found out at the same time as all audience members — when she popped up on the screen.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, Yvette Nicole Brown explained:
“You know, I still pinch myself. And it’s funny, I was… The news of me being in it, it was a cameo, so I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. So, I sat on that secret for two years. We shot it in 2017, and it didn’t come out until 2019. And it had taken so long, they were shooting Infinity War and Endgame at the same time. And so, I shot while everyone knew that Infinity War was being shot, so I thought I was in Infinity War. So, when Infinity War came out and I wasn’t in it, I was like, ‘Well, you know, it was a great experience. I got to work with Chris and Robert. And, you know, it didn’t work out, it’s fine.’ So, I went to the premiere of Endgame with my group of friends, my blerd bunch group, and we see the elevator and I’m like, ‘I’m in this!’ And next thing you know, there is my face, I was as shocked as everybody else. We all screamed. Chris Evans is now my Twitter boyfriend, life is good. Life is good.”
Numerous Community cast members have popped up in cameos in the Russos’ Marvel movies. The first was D.C. Pierson, who was not a series regular, but who regular Community watchers will surely recognize as Mark Millot, a member of the sketch comedy group “Greendale Gooffaws” and reporter for the Greendale Gazette Journal Mirror. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, he made a cameo as the Apple tech who helps Cap and Natasha when they are trying to access Fury’s flash drive.
In the same film, Community series regular Danny Pudi (Abed) portrayed a S.H.I.E.L.D. communications officer, and Aaron Himelstein, who appeared as Jeremy “Soulpatch” Simmons in S1 of Community, portrayed S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Klein, the agent who stood up to the Hydra leaders by refusing to launch the Helicarriers.
Finally, Jim Rash, who played Dean Pelton on Community, appeared toward the beginning of Captain America: Civil War as a groveling M.I.T. professor (dean?) sucking up to Tony Stark after his grand presentation.
Though it’s certainly not related, it should be pointed out that Brie Larson had a recurring role in Community Seasons 4 and 5 as Abed’s girlfriend, Rachel. And well… she’s made a few appearances in the MCU since then.
You can watch all of the Marvel movies on Disney+. You can binge Community on Netflix.
Additional source: Screen Rant
