Steve Carell Returning For ‘The Office’ Finale

It appears that Steve Carell will be returning for The Office finale after all.

Just last week, executive producer Greg Daniels issued a very carefully worded denial that the series finale would not feature a guest appearance by Carell.

“I think Steve felt, and I agree, that the ‘Goodbye, Michael’ episode was his goodbye and he didn’t want to overshadow the ending that all the other characters deserved,” he said during a conference call with reporters. Notice the last part of that sentence — Carell didn’t want to overshadow the ending, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be in it at all.

That bit of news was confirmed Monday by sources who said that Carell’s return is more likely to be a cameo than a full guest appearance. However, an NBC spokesperson declined to comment, and Carell’s rep insisted that the finale would not feature Michael Scott.

Daniels also noted that the last episode of the American version of The Office would return to its British roots.

“After attempting to beat that (British) ending in a number of different ways, we ended up doing something very similar,” he said.

The series finale will take place at a wedding, and will also go through a final round of interviews. “Mysteries are solved, hatchets are buried, pranks are prunked,” according to NBC’s synopsis. The synopsis also mentions “workers of Dunder Mifflin, past and present,” which certainly leaves room for Michael Scott to make an appearance.

However, fans shouldn’t expect to see Ricky Gervais, who played David Brent in the UK version. Gervais is currently filming The Muppets 2.

After nine seasons, The Office series finale will air May 16 and will be preceded by a one-hour tribute, which will include interviews and bonus footage.

Are you excited to learn that Steve Carell will be making an appearance in The Office finale after all?