Heroes creator Tim Kring has released a statement about NBC's cancellation of the series, and well, it almost sounds as if he's unconvinced that the series is really canceled.

The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed blog has the statement (The intro is part of the actual statement, BTW):

Regarding NBC’s decision not to renew the international hit “Heroes” for a fifth season, creator and executive producer, and award winning transmedia storyteller, Tim Kring commented: “I want to first extend my deepest gratitude and heartfelt appreciation to the legion of enthusiastic fans who have watched ‘Heroes’ on TV, online, DVR, DVD and mobile over the last four seasons.

Every week more than 45 million TV viewers around the world, as well as millions of social and digital media-based fans, have made ‘Heroes’ one of the five most-watched shows across traditional and digital media screens in the history of television.

For NBC, I certainly understand the challenge of creating a business model around a show which arrived precisely as the audience was finding new ways to watch traditional content on multiple screens.

I personally have had 12 great years with my friends at NBC, and with ‘Heroes,’ they provided me a rare opportunity to put a message of hope, interconnectivity and global consciousness into the world. For that I am grateful and look forward to finalizing our discussion about a number of ways to keep the ‘Heroes’ universe alive for its fans.”

Kring's "12 great years" comment includes his runs as writer and producer on both Crossing Jordan and Providence, as well as the four year stint on Heroes. More curious is the mention of the "number of ways to keep the 'Heroes' universe alive"; does this mean online, NBC sharing ownership of the series with another network (a la Friday Night Lights) or the series moving networks altogether? Start your speculation in three... two... one...