Mark Harmon’s NCIS Return Unveiled in First Look

Mark Harmon is officially coming back as Leroy Jethro Gibbs as part of a new season-long story arc on the hit prequel series NCIS: Origins. Ahead of the big return, the first look at Harmon back in the role has been revealed.

Deadline has published a handful of images revealing Harmon back in character as Gibbs, as seen in NCIS: Origins. He’ll be seen starting with the first episode of Season 3, titled “Don’t You Forget About Me.” The season will bounce back and forth between the past and the present day, showing how the aftermath of a case the younger Gibbs (Austin Stowell) is working on in the past eventually catches up to the former agent in the future. Take a look at the new images of Harmon as Gibbs below.

Mark Harmon’s Big Return Comes 4 Years Later

Image via CBS

The Gibbs character walked away from NCIS during Season 19 in 2021. He chose to stay behind in Alaska and enjoy retirement, effectively writing him out of the story while leaving the door open for new appearances. Harmon has since served as the narrator for NCIS: Origins with an occasional cameo. His season-long arc in the new season will put him back into the spotlight, a move that showrunner David North says was made in order to “give the fans what they wanted.”

“When we first see Gibbs in the season premiere, he is still in Alaska with his trusted rescue dog but soon finds that the peace he found there isn’t going to be easy to hold on to,” North also teased about the story. “Ghosts from his past are catching up to him, and it may be enough to pull him out of retirement. Over the course of the season, we’ll discover that what’s happening in present day is directly tied to events that occurred during his ‘90s Camp Pendleton days.”

Will Gibbs Survive His Return in NCIS: Origins?

Image via CBS

Some fans of the franchise might be approaching this return with caution. It could be speculated that Gibbs is coming back for one last big hurrah before the character is ultimately killed off at the end of it, definitively bringing his story to an end. North isn’t promising that this won’t happen, as shocking deaths are not unusual for the franchise, though he also suggested that it wouldn’t be ideal, given how beloved Gibbs is to so many people. That includes North himself.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he said. “NCIS does have a history of doing that sort of thing. But this character means as much to me as he does to you, so I’m rooting for him.”