We might not know when or if we’ll see Special Agent Dwayne Pride return in the present-day-set NCIS shows, but it seems we could soon see him appear in the 90s-set spinoff, NCIS: Origins.
Although nothing has been confirmed just yet, NCIS: Origins co-showrunner Gina Lucita Monreal seemed to hint that the Fed 5 could be coming as part of the show’s focus on maintaining franchise canon. This means a younger version of Agent Pride could be coming as early as season 2.
“We always have our eye on canon. We have a big huge timeline in the writers room and we’re really strict about sticking to it. The canon matters to us, and we never want to ignore it. So, all the things that we’re seeing in canon, we will address one way or another,” Monreal revealed via TVLine when asked whether the Fed 5 could be coming in season 2.
This would make sense as it seems only inevitable that NCIS: Origins introduces us to a younger version of Pride, who Scott Bakula played across NCIS: New Orleans’ seven-season run. We learned in the backdoor pilot of NCIS: New Orleans that the Fed 5 was comprised of Gibbs, Pride, Mike Franks, Felix Betts, and Dan McLane, and that the group was responsible for bringing down the Privileged Killer. At the time, both Gibbs and Pride were probies, so the timeline aligns with where we are in Gibbs’ life at the moment in NCIS: Origins.
Beyond working together as part of the Fed 5, we know that Gibbs and Pride are old friends, and it would be amazing to get to see their friendship explored. It would also be a lot of fun to see a younger version of Pride within the show and revisit the character during his younger years, even if only for an episode or two.
We’ve gotten to see younger versions of some of the franchise’s iconic characters already, but we’ve been hoping to someday see younger iterations of characters from the other NCIS franchises pop up. This isn’t something that can be done for many characters, but Pride and Hetty from NCIS: Los Angeles have been at the top of fans’ wish lists. There’s no telling if Hetty might ever appear in the series, but we’re definitely excited by the potential of seeing Pride possibly pop up in NCIS: Origins season 2.
Honestly, we’d just love to see anyone from the NCIS: New Orleans cast pop back up in the franchise, regardless of whether it's in the past via NCIS: Origins or in one of the current shows. Since the show’s end in 2021, we’ve not seen any of the characters from NCIS: New Orleans return to the franchise for a cameo, and that’s honestly a real shame.
It’s almost as though the only spinoff the franchise wants to acknowledge is NCIS: Los Angeles, as we’ve yet to see anyone from NCIS: Hawai’i pop back up for a cameo since it ended as well. We understand part of this likely stems from actor availability, but we’d love it if the flagship show brought us a guest appearance from someone from either show.