If you were wondering how very different Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) looked when he started working for “NCIS,” wonder no more. CBS has dropped a first-look trailer for “NCIS: Origins,” which gives audiences their very first glimpse of this young version of Gibbs. And it seems that Austin Stowell will do one thing that Mark Harmon’s take on the character never got to do — wear his hair long.
In the first-look image below, Stowell has an optimistic look on his face, and he sports longer reddish hair. Naturally, the Gibbs audiences have known and loved is a close-cropped fellow with clean-shaven sideburns. But it looks like he started from a different place when he was younger. Indeed, the character will start out at NCIS Camp Pendleton under the watch of Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid).
Aside from Stowell’s Gibbs, fans can expect to see Mariel Molino as Special Agent Lala Dominguez, Tyla Abercrumbie as Field Operation Support Officer Mary Jo Sullivan, and Diany Rodriguez as Special Agent Vera Strickland, a key franchise character making her return. And the excitement doesn’t stop there, as the show has a tie back to the original “NCIS” world.
Mark Harmon will narrate Gibbs’ adventures
In case you were already hungering for original recipe Gibbs action, “NCIS” fans should be thrilled to know that Mark Harmon will be returning to the franchise to narrate his origin story, adding another tie to the franchise at large and the character himself.
While audiences will have to wait until the fall arrives to find out what they think of Gibbs’ youthful escapades, the series co-showrunners are very high on the drama naturally. “This really is the making of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. And even the most dedicated NCIS fans will discover that they don’t know the whole story,” said executive producers and co-showrunners Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North in a statement reprinted by TVInsider on the occasion of “NCIS: Origins” being greenlit. “We’re thrilled to be bringing this new chapter to life along with Mark and Sean Harmon,” they added, referring to Harmon’s son, who is also executive producing the show.
The drama can use all of the good press it can get; fans of the franchise are already upset with “NCIS: Origin” for existing, as they think its existence is to blame for the cancellation of “NCIS: Hawai’i,” causing them to boycott it. Time will tell as to who will ultimately enjoy this new wing of the entertainment dynasty.