Prior to taking the Comic-Con stage for their panel discussion this morning, the cast of Community sat down with TV Fanatic and other outlets to dish on what they could regarding Season 4.

None of the actors interviewed had actually seen any scripts, but that didn’t stop Joel McHale from offering up casting suggestions for Jeff’s father (Ryan Reynolds? Charles Barkley?) or Yvette Nicole Brown from pleading for just one scene with (the absent) Donald Glover.

Yvette Nicole Brown and Alison Brie solved the latter’s lipstick crisis before moving on to their thoughts on Comic-Con and Brie’s hope that Annie finally gets a love interest:

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Check out the “Best of Season 3″ and Gag Reel from the “Community” season 3!

Several members of Community‘s Greendale Gang hit the stage at Comic-Con Friday morning, and while the scoop was a bit scarce — the cast had only just met with new showrunners Moses Port and David Guarascio before the panel to discuss Season 4 — Joel McHale and Co. were on fire and pretty much brought down the Human Being-filled house while they were at it.

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL | Of course, the panel kicked off with an introduction to the aforementioned producers, and what they had to say really boosted our confidence in their plans. “It’s all gonna be OK,” Guarascio said to the crowd. “A couple months ago we were a lot like most of you, just huge fans of the show… Suddenly now we’re here, helping to keep it going. The only thing we care about is keeping it this weird, wonderful gem… and that’s not going to change.” Echoed Port: “It’s also not us coming in and taking it on by ourselves. It’s the best cast on television… What I mean to say is, we won’t screw it up. We promise.”

GRADUATION UPDATE | Though series creator/original showrunner Dan Harmon often said the gang would graduate in Season 4, that may no longer be the case. “There’s a way to be true to the show … where the series will keep going even if they’re not [in college] all at the same time,” Guarascio shared. “They’ve become this family that will still exist together without changing the dynamic of the show.”

HOMIE DOES DEAN THIS | “It is, for a lot of the characters, their senior year,” Guarascio revealed. “That gives us the opportunity to explore some relationships — one of which might be the Dean and Jeff.”

CARTOONISH COMMUNITY | Think animated Community episodes went out the door with the innovative Harmon? Think again. “I think we should do a little in the first episode,” Guarascio put out there.

TEAM TRITTA | Will that Troy/Britta flirtation continue in Season 4? “The sparks may turn into a little bit of a fire,” Guarascio teased.

HOUSE HUNTERS AND A COMICAL ‘CON’ | In Season 4, “We’re going to get to see Pierce’s mansion [and] the twisted world in which he lives,” said Guarascio. “We are also going to get to go to an Inspector Spacetime convention…. Everyone [in the group] is going to go!”

DREAM DAD | If McHale has his way, a big-name star will play his father. “Eddie Murphy, everybody,” he joked. “Pluto Nash himself.”

SO BAD, IT’S GOOD | Will Britta continue to Britta things in Season 4? “Oh yeah,” Gillian Jacobs assured us.

BAG LADY | The other burning question on every fan’s mind: Will Shirley ever put down her purse? “I really think Shirley has the purse because I always have my purse,” Yvette Nicole Brown explained with a laugh. “I’m from the inner-city of Cleveland — you just don’t leave your purse!”

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A move to Fridays this fall didn’t hamper the mood for Community.

Set to a sizzle reel with a custom “Friday Night” tune, stars Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown and new showrunners Moses Port and David Guarascio took the stage to a boisterous Ballroom 20 crowd at Comic-Con.

But the question on everyone’s mind was: Will season four be different with new bosses at the helm instead of creator Dan Harmon who was axed in May? (Harmon’s name wasn’t mentioned until near the end of the hourlong panel.)

“It’s all going to be OK,” says Guarascio when asked about how season four will look with the new regime. “We were just like you who thought it was best show on television and all of a sudden, we’re here,” adding that they will keep the “weird, wonderful gem and that’s not going to change.”

Later in the panel, the new showrunners previewed season four – and if fans were worried about the change, they did their best to reassure.

“The easy part about it is that we’re fans of the show first and observed it from afar and thinking how did they get away with that?” Guarascio says. “From that standpoint, we understand the show deeply and we love and we want it to keep being the wonderful thing that it is. Like no other show, the fans influence what happens on the screen.”

“In the writers room, we’re talking about what you’re going to like on a regular basis,” he says.

“It’s also not us taking it in by ourselves,” added Port. “We have a lot of writers back from last season and we hit autopilot – what I’m saying is we’re not gonna screw it up.”

Season four is also pivotal for the Community gang as it usually marks a community college student’s senior year – and the producers gave a small preview into what could be coming up.

“It’s emotional for people, what’s going to happen next. That’ll give us a chance to explore some new relationships; one might have to do with the dean (Jim Rash) and Jeff.” Guarascio teases. “We’re going to see Pierce’s mansion and see the twisted world where he lives.”

“We’re going to get to go to an Inspector Spacetime convention,” he added to cheers. “Everyone’s going to go.”

Writer Megan Ganz also revealed that the Germans, led by Nick Kroll, will be returning in the new season.

Continuing in the tradition of special theme episodes, Guarascio revealed that he’d like to “do a little [animation] in the first episode. We’ll see.” If viewers were worried that cast members would be departing or not seen as they move on from Greendale, he says that “the show will keep going” even though not everyone will be students at the college.

THR’s Full Coverage of Comic-Con 2012

During the panel, the cast took time to thank the fans – a fan video was even shown.

“We may not win Emmys or get nominated for them, but we win every online poll and that’s because of you guys,” says Jacobs, who gave a shoutout to the fan art show, “Six Seasons and a Movie.”

McHale said at one point: “There wouldn’t have been a season four without you guys. … The flash mobs, the fake beards and the blood sacrifices … If we do get canceled after 13 episodes, I blame you.”

Some other highlights from the panel:

• “I really think Shirley has that purse because I always have my purse. I’m from the inner city from Cleveland and you don’t walk away from your purse,” Brown says.
• “I’m just composing texts, not necessarily [sending them]. He’s just texting his hairdresser,” McHale says of his cell phone-addicted character.
• “[Dick Wolf] gave his blessing to use the ‘chung-chung,’ ” Ganz says of the Law & Order episode from the previous season. “We actually got a Law & Order actor [to appear], Leslie Hendricks who played the medical examiner.”

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Tomorrow, Alison Brie and her “Community” co-stars Joel Mchale, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown and Gillian Jacobs will be interviewed by EW.com during the Comic-Con live stream! Make sure to watch at EW.com at 1:45 PM (Pacific Time) for the interview!