After the NCIS franchise crossed 1,000 episodes, it’s still going strong with two more series in the works. One of those include the upcoming Gibbs prequel series, NCIS: Origins, which will dig deeper into the complicated backstory of Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs, now played by Austin Stowell. This also means touching on stories that have already been established on the Mothership series, but luckily, the prequel will reportedly be avoiding breaking canon and I’m so glad.
It was previously announced that Longmire star Robert Taylor was cast as Gibbs’ father, Jackson, for NCIS: Origins. The casting raised some eyebrows, though, as it was revealed on NCIS that didn’t speak for quite some time after Shannon’s funeral. The prequel will take place not long after Gibbs loses his wife and daughter, meaning that silent treatment will still be pretty fresh. Regardless, though, Origins co-showrunner David North told TVLine that they’re aware of it and want to stay true to the continuity:
We did solve it. We’re very aware of the canon and what’s been set up, and we’re working within that. But I’ll say this: Jackson) is an important role, and we’ll see the influence of him on Gibbs.
That’s always the struggle with doing any type of spinoff, whether it’s a prequel, sequel, revival, reboot, or anything else. It’s keeping the continuity and the canon intact. Sometimes already-established storylines or characters are changed anyway, such as with Young Sheldon or The Winchesters but the end-result was still the same and there was at least some explanation for why it was different. As with NCIS: Origins’ case, it sounds like the series will still be taking great care in making sure that whatever was said on NCIS is played out exactly on Origins.
That being said, it could be really interesting seeing how Jackson’s relationship is with his son, even if they don’t talk much. Since Jackson will still very much have an influence on Gibbs and still play an important role in his son’s life, fans will be seeing both sides of that relationship and there’s no telling how it will go.
The NCIS: Origins cast is filled with new characters and familiar characters, of course, played by different actors. Gibbs’ story is not the only origin story that we will be getting, and being able to get more background on some beloved characters will be something to look forward to. Origins is also the first prequel in the franchise, so there’s going to be a lot of experimenting and trying to make sure everything turns out perfect. As long as the canon doesn’t break, that’s all that really matters.
It won’t be long until fans see the relationship between Leroy and Jackson when NCIS: Origins premieres on Monday, October 14 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS as part of the 2024 TV schedule. There is a lot of story that needs to stay true to NCIS, and fans these days don’t mess around with canon. Luckily, Origins should be just fine.
