Is Jason Segel Really Leaving How I Met Your Mother?

Star of CBS hit series allegedly tells an Austrian website that he'll be quitting the show to focus on movies, but is that correct?

The Internet was lit ablaze today with rumors that Jason Segel would be leaving How I Met Your Mother after this season, regardless if CBS renewed the hit show for a ninth season.

The rumors started when Austrian website kurier.at ran an interview with Segel that reported him as saying, "It's great to do some 'rated R' stuff again, because I've been playing the nice guy for quite a long time now. That's why I'm gonna quit How I Met Your Mother after the eighth season."

According to Segel's camp, this rumor is nothing but a misunderstanding

"Perhaps something got lost in translation, but season nine hasn't even been addressed yet," a rep for Segel tells us.

Segel has been playing Marshall Eriksen on the CBS hit comedy since 2005, and since then has broken out onto the big screen with flicks like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You, Man and The Muppets. According to a source, Segel leaving the show to keep pursing his movie career is very possible, and he might not be the only one to leave.

"Jason and Alyson [Hannigan] are the two least likely to want to do a season 9. It would take a lot of money to keep them. A lot," the insider tells us.

Recently, CBS confirmed they were in early discussions with creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays to give HIMYM a ninth season. Thomas and fellow producer Pam Fryman told us this week that they were "preparing for the end" of the show this year, but the possible renewal has made writing season eight very challenging.