Ricky Gervais Takes David Brent Out Of The Office For Life On The Road - Watch Trailer Now

If you're a diehard fan of The Office like me, chances are that you've been dreading the upcoming spin-off movie that is David Brent: Life on the Road, purely on the basis that it shouldn't exist.

When Ricky Gervais, whose recent comedic efforts have left a lot to be desired, first announced that he was essentially making Brent: The Movie (and without his co-writer and former partner Stephen Merchant, no less), I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a world where the talented writer/director didn't feel a need to tarnish the only perfect thing he's ever created with a pointless spin-off film.

Imagine my shock, then, when the first teaser trailer for David Brent: Life on the Road landed earlier this morning and it didn't make me want to close my eyes, put my fingers in my ears and hum really, really loudly: it's actually pretty funny and - best of all - feels like a natural extension of The Office (well, sort of).

The teaser hones in on Brent at his new place of work, a very Office-like office, where he continues on his unintentional mission to make everyone around him incredibly awkward (in this brief teaser, he can be seen talking about female ejaculation). The film itself is set to chronicle the cringe-inducing travelling salesman's last ditch shot at fame as he hits the road with his former band, Forgone Conclusion.

I never thought I'd say it, but it's actually nice to see Gervais back in the role of Brent; though it's risky for the comedian to return to such sacred ground, Brent is a creation of true comic genius - it's difficult not to be excited whenever he makes an appearance, so naturally does Gervais fall back into the persona.

What's more, Life on the Road appears to have captured the "tone" of the original The Office TV series rather nicely - it's almost as if we haven't been away for twelve years (a time lapse that Brent refuses to address in the teaser to comical effect).

Maybe this won't be the disaster that Office fans predicted it to be all along; it certainly doesn't appear that way from the footage glimpsed here. Is it wrong to say that, as somebody who would have derided this movie only yesterday, it couldn't "cum" any sooner?

David Brent: Life On The Road hits cinemas on 19 August, 2016