Mark Harmon left “NCIS” in 2021, leading many fans to speculate that they’d seen the last of him playing Leroy Jethro Gibbs. However, the veteran actor couldn’t stay away from the procedural franchise for too long, as Harmon’s “NCIS” return was confirmed when news broke that he’d narrate his character’s prequel series. Now that “NCIS: Origins” is upon us, it seems that he might be more involved than we were initially led to believe.

While some of CBS’ top executives claimed that Harmon wouldn’t appear on “NCIS: Origins,” the two-episode premiere, “Enter Sandman,” tells a different story. He reprises the role of Gibbs on-screen in a couple of scenes, which reveal that he’s still hanging out in Alaska and keeping to himself. The first episode sees him chop up some wood before sitting down by the fire to write his story. In the follow-up episode, his reflection briefly appears on a window toward the end.

Harmon’s return shuns those claims about him not appearing on-screen as Gibbs for the latest installment of the NCIS franchise. However, CBS’ top brass probably weren’t lying to us when they made that comment, as Harmon’s big comeback wasn’t planned.

“NCIS” fans will be delighted to see Mark Harmon back as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, even if he isn’t the main star of the prequel series. “NCIS: Origins” is primarily focused on Austin Stowell’s portrayal of the agent during his younger years, but the show’s creators realized that Harmon still has a role to play, as co-showrunner David J. North explained to TV Insider.

“It wasn’t always the intention going into this to find Gibbs in Alaska, but it’s just conversations between [co-showrunner] Gina [Lucita Monreal] and I, and then finally we went to Mark and said, ‘We just think it’s important.’ What a treat for the viewers and also for us, for Gina and I ourselves, and going out there that day and shooting it was a lot of fun.”

North didn’t confirm whether this will be the last we’ve seen of Harmon’s Gibbs on “NCIS: Origins,” but the door is always open if the veteran actor is interested. The good news, though, is that fans will hear his voice in every episode, and that’s better than nothing.