Exclusive: Steve Carell Back for The Office Finale

Michael Scott, you sneaky little devil you.

On the heels of another carefully worded denial from exec producer Greg Daniels that The Office‘s May 16 series finale will not feature a return appearance by Steve Carell, TVLine has learned exclusively that the Dunder Mifflin legend will, in fact, turn up in the swan song.

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In a conference call with reporters last week, Daniels sort-of-but-not-really shot down speculation about a Carell comeback, saying, “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.”

Possible translation: Carell’s return won’t overshadow the ending.

And by all accounts, it won’t. According to sources, Carell’s return engagement qualifies as more of a cameo than a full-fledged guest appearance. (It’s unclear if Carell will be joined by his Office soul mate Amy Ryan.)

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An NBC spokesperson declined to comment, while Carell’s rep insists that the Office finale will be Scott-free.

On Saturday, Carell surprised thousands of Office fans when he joined his former co-stars at a huge “wrap party” held in the real Scranton, Pennsylvania.