E! News hit the red carpet for Steve's new movie Despicable Me last night, and Steve made it clear he was not joking when he told BBC Radio he would leave The Office after the coming 2010-2011 season.

"I just think it's time," Steve told our Kristina Guerrero. "I want to fulfill my contract. When I first signed on I had a contract for seven seasons, and this coming year is my seventh. I just thought it was time for my character to go."

But according to Steve, The Office could go on without him. "It doesn't certainly mean the end of the show. I think it's just a dynamic change to the show, which could be a good thing, actually. Add some new life and some new energy...I see it as a positive in general for the show."

A positive that Michael Scott could be leaving Dunder Mifflin for good? Anyone else having a problem seeing that? Still, Steve, doused in Eau to Humility, had this to say about the attention he's receiving for his exit: "I didn't see it as a huge thing and I certainly didn't anticipate any sort of hubbub over it. I'm just not going to extend my contract, but I didn't see it as a huge deal. And the show is great, and the ensemble is so strong, and the writers are great, so it's just one part of that ensemble drifting off. They've incorporated so many new characters and so many new, great storylines that I have no doubt it'll continue as strong if not stronger than ever."

Color me gullible, but that sure doesn't sound like the usual bargaining ploy to me. So file this one under Dammit! 'Cause Steve Carell sure seems dead serious he plans to leave The Office.