Mark Harmon is finally confirmed to return as Leroy Jethro Gibbs more than three years after his last appearance as the iconic NCIS boss.
NCIS legend Mark Harmon will officially reprise his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the first episode of CBS’s upcoming spin-off, NCIS: Origins.
The new prequel tells the story of Gibbs’ first years with the investigative service, then called the NIS, in the early 90s.
As up-and-comer Austin Stowell steps into the iconic role, Mark will be making a small yet significant appearance to pass the torch.
He was already confirmed to be returning to narrate the series, but co-showrunner David J North has now revealed he’ll be making a physical appearance as well.
This will be the first new scenes featuring Gibbs NCIS fans will get to see since his final episode in 2021, Great Wide Open.
“That was a discussion between Mark, myself and [co-showrunner] Gina Monreal,” David said during a recent NCIS panel, per TVLine.
“I hope the audience will be excited to see him after so many years.”
It’s yet to be revealed how exactly Gibbs will show up and it will likely remain a mystery until Origins airs next month.
Viewers could get an update on how the former Special Agent in Charge is spending his time after leaving the team in 2021.
Alternatively, the prequel could flashback to a recent moment during a mission or one-on-one with another character that happened off-screen.
Either way, David also teased there could be more opportunities for Mark to return further down the line, so Gibbs’ story in the present day may not be over just yet.
“We are focusing on him telling the story of 1991,” he said. “As far as Mark appearing again, we are open to anything.”
Millions of fans are expected to tune in when Origins drops the same day as the upcoming 22nd season of NCIS’s flagship show.
A trailer for the series recently dropped in the midst of controversy as many fans were frustrated the prequel was going ahead instead of the recently cancelled NCIS: Hawaii.
However, many of them had to admit the series looked “better than they thought” after witnessing the first footage.
“This looks way better than I thought it would and it has that streaming service quality to it,” one fan said on YouTube.
And another said: “I thought this was gonna be terrible,” a third admitted. “But this looks amazing.”
However, many more potential fans will be waiting to give their verdict once the series has actually been released in just less than a month’s time.