‘NCIS: Origins’: Could Young Vance Appear?

NCIS: Origins allows the hit franchise to tell the stories of characters fans know well before they met them. The prequel takes place in the ’90s — the finale sees the agency go from NIS or NCIS — and follows Gibbs (Austin Stowell, Mark Harmon) in his early days on Franks’ (Kyle Schmid, Muse Watson) team and working alongside Vera (Diany Rodriguez, Roma Maffia). The series has also introduced young versions of Fornell (Lucas Dixon, Joe Spano) and Pride (Shea Buckner, Scott Bakula) and brought in Adam Campbell as the younger Ducky (David McCallum). So, who could be next?

“I really wanted to see a young Gary Callahan, but we did that,” showrunner David J. North remarked while discussing the Season 2 finale with TV Insider.

“I really love the actor that plays young Fornell because I think he’s so much like Fornell. We get in trouble with the canon because it’s so tricky. We can’t cross him with Gibbs,” showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal (who will not be back for Season 3) pointed out. “I mean, you could, but then you’re picking one avenue of a canon that there’s a big disagreement of when they actually knew each other. But I think he just so embodied that character that I think it’d be cool to see him again.”

North also brought up a character who just died in the present day on NCIS in the series’ 500th episode. “I just had a nice conversation with Rocky Carroll after his episode where he dies and Rocky and Vance are just so special. I mean, might be interesting to see a young Vance,” he noted.

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Speaking of bringing characters in that we know from other shows, what about another crossover? After all, the first one was successful; the case as well as a few characters were the through lines between the two time periods of Origins and NCIS.

“There are not so many conversations, but I’m always thinking about what to do with that sort of stuff. That one did work out and we know how much the fans love them and there’s always opportunity there,” North shared. “So the truth is I don’t know exactly if there would be anything next season at this point, but I do know that we’re always thinking in that direction.”

Said Monreal, “It was funny because since we started the show, people were like, ‘Oh, that’d be cool if you could do a crossover, but you can’t because of the time period.’ And that was always the thinking. And then one day, David was like, ‘No, actually we can do it. This is how we can do it. ‘ And everyone was like, ‘Oh, yeah, amazing.’ So yeah, I think it’s really cool that it’s even possible to do that kind of thing with our show. It was definitely a fun challenge.”

CBS

North said that despite the difficulty and stress of the crossover, “It really paid off,” adding, “Just when you think it can’t be more difficult, then you call Mark Harmon about three days into prep and say, ‘Hey, can you be in this as well?’ And so, the fun of making TV.”

Off that, of course, has come the question of whether Harmon will appear onscreen again as Gibbs on Origins; he did for the series premiere as well as the crossover. “We know what the fans want. He so much represents what NCIS is, and I would love to see him again, but definitely we’ll see what happens,” said North.

Which younger versions of characters do you want to see on Origins? Do you want to see another crossover? Let us know in the comments section below.

NCIS: Origins, Season 3, Fall 2026, TBA, CBS

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