'Chuck' movie 'a couple years' away, but star Zachary Levi wants it to happen

Actor Zachary Levi, who is at San Diego Comic Con for the third straight year with his Nerd HQ setup, believes a movie based on the NBC series "Chuck" is "a couple years" away.

"Chuck" ran from 2007 to 2012 on NBC.

In an interview with TV Line's Michael Auisello, Levy said of the movie, "I want it to happen. I've talked to Warner Bros. about it. I think that it sits right now in everyone's head as 'yeah, that could definitely be something we could do together.'

"It's not going to happen for a couple of years," he said, pointing out that the series, which ran for five seasons, is still on the air in some countries, and he doesn't was "spoil" the finale for them.

Asked about the Kickstarter route, which has been successful recently for several projects, including the "Veronica Mars" movie, Levi said was more interested in creating a new model, akin to video games in which players pre-buy the game before release and, for a premium, get a "special edition."

He specifically pointed to the situation in which people who paid $10,000 toward other projects earned a walk-on role, adding that he was more interested in a "flat rate" approach. Additionally, he didn't want the project to be entirely dependent on raising a certain amount of money from fans.

Levy will return to Broadway after Comic Con to his part in the comedic musical "First Date," which gave him a week off from previews so he could meet his Nerd HQ committments.

He will next be seen on the big screen in Marvel's "Thor: The Dark World," in which he will be playing Fandral, taking over the part from Josh Dallas, who couldn't appear in the comic book sequel due to his commitments to ABC's "Once Upon a Time."

Yvonne Strahovski joins 'Dexter' for multi-episode arc

"Chuck" star Yvonne Strahovski will be making a return to television next fall thanks to a multi-episode arc on Showtime's "Dexter."

Yvonne Strahovski

According to Deadline, Strahovski, who finished her five-season run on NBC's "Chuck" this year, will play Hannah McKay, a "strong, independent woman with a past that she's struggled to put behind her."

The show follows Dexter (Michael C. Hall), a forensic agent with the Miami Police Department who just happens to be a serial killer, although most of his victims are criminals themselves. In the upcoming seventh season, Dexter works with Hannah after she is asked by the department to help on several old cases.

Strahovski played CIA agent Sarah Walker on "Chuck" for five seasons before the show ended in January. She will also be appearing in the films "The Guilt Trip" and "I, Frankenstein," both of which are in post-production.

Season seven of "Dexter" is due to premier Sept. 30. Production began last week.

NBC renews 'Chuck' for a fifth season

Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) in NBC's "Chuck"

The spy with a computer in his head has dodged another bullet. NBC made its official today, announcing “Chuck” will be back for a fifth season.

According to multiple reports, the fifth season will consist of 13 episodes and will be the series' last.

“Chuck vs. The Cliffhanger,” the fourth season finale--which could have easily been the series finale--will air Monday, May 16, at 8 p.m.

NBC also recently renewed “Parenthood” and “Harry's Law,” while canceling “The Event.” Also notable, the network passed on David E. Kelley's “Wonder Woman” pilot.

“Chuck” is the second low-rated but critically appreciated show on my weekly schedule to get picked up despite the odds, the other being FOX's “Fringe.”

The quirky comedy-that-could features Zachary Levy as the title character, who after getting all of the CIA's secrets uploaded into his head, becomes a...unique spy.

“Chuck” has now fought off cancelation each of the last three season, most notably after its sophomore season when it was helped by the “Save Chuck” campaign, which urged fans to visit Subway restaurants, a product placement sponsor, the day of the finale. I honestly had given up most hope of renewal this season after the show's ratings fell to historic lows over the past several months.

Because of its multiple close-calls, “Chuck” has already had four or five episodes which could have served as a series finale (including Monday's episode), so should today's reports prove true, they will have all the practice they need to wrap up the story right. And honestly, having a firm number of episode will probably be for the best, so they don't have to adjust mid-stream on how far they need to stretch their stories.