Steve Carell "will not be showing up" for “The Office” follow-up series.
The 61-year-old actor starred as the quirky boss Michael Scott in the beloved sitcom from 2005 before exiting the programme in 2011, and he has now revealed he has no plans to make any appearances in the upcoming spin-off show because his character has "no reason" to.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he said: "I will be watching but I will not be showing up. It’s just a new thing and there’s really no reason for my character to show up in something like that."
The new Peacock programme – which is being written by “The Office” mastermind Greg Daniels - has already cast “Star Wars” actor Domhnall Gleeson and “The White Lotus” star Sabrina Impacciatore, and will follow the everyday struggles of a Midwestern newspaper company.
Although he won’t be joining the cast, Carell emphasised he had full-faith in Domhnall – with whom he had worked with on the 2022 series “The Patient” – and described him as an "excellent actor".
He explained: "I’m excited about it, it sounds like a great concept.
"I love the idea — I guess it’s set in a failing newspaper company, and I worked with Domhnall Gleeson, who is one of the leads; I did “The Patient” with him and he’s an excellent actor and a super nice guy, so I think it’ll be great."
The “Evan Almighty” star is currently having his own reunion for the fan-favourite mockumentary through his new movie “IF’, which was written and directed by his ”The Office“ co-star John Krasinski.
Reflecting on his friend, Carell heaped praise onto Krasinski and said it was "just a joy" to be working with him again.
He gushed: "He directed some episodes of “The Office” so I was familiar with him as a director and he’s a great director — he’s very thorough, he’s smart and he knows how to work with actors because he is one.
"It was just a joy from beginning to end and I jumped at the chance to work with him again, partly just to be with him. He’s a good friend and I hadn’t seen him in a while, so it was nice to catch up."