The expansion of the NCIS universe is one of television’s most consistent success stories. With the introduction of the new prequel series, NCIS: Origins, which delves into the early days of a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the franchise has a unique opportunity to enrich its history and connect its past with its present.
While Origins is primarily focused on the Mark Harmon character’s early career, the show is confirming that it won’t just introduce new characters; it will deliver some of the most anticipated fan service in the franchise’s history. The producers have recently revealed a stunning crossover plan for the upcoming season: the introduction of adult, present-day versions of two beloved, albeit minor, characters from the original NCIS run: Woody and Phil.
And the casting for these older versions is generating massive buzz: comedic powerhouse Bobby Moynihan (of Saturday Night Live fame) and acclaimed character actor Ely Henry have been tapped to play the grown-up versions of the two notorious mischief-makers. This shocking inclusion suggests a storyline that reaches across decades, tying Gibbs’ past directly to the hilarious and strange incidents the NCIS team investigates today.
👨👦 Woody and Phil: The Original Mischief-Makers
Woody and Phil were recurring characters during the earlier seasons of NCIS. They weren’t agents or detectives, but rather two young, often unsupervised kids—usually pre-teens—who lived near military bases or frequented the areas where NCIS was investigating cases.
Their Legacy of Trouble
- The Juvenile Element: Woody and Phil were typically introduced as either the accidental witnesses to a crime or, more often, the petty culprits behind non-lethal mischief—pranks, minor thefts, or general juvenile delinquency that frequently intersected with NCIS’s jurisdiction.
- The Gibbs Dynamic: Their scenes were often highlights because they provided a rare opportunity to see a softer, yet perpetually exasperated, side of Gibbs. Gibbs, with his own troubled family past, would grudgingly serve as a kind of reluctant mentor, using his tough-love approach to steer them toward making better choices, often offering cryptic advice or just a silent stare that was enough to intimidate the kids.
- The Loose End: Their stories often ended with a sense of ambiguity—did they straighten up, or did they grow up to be career petty criminals? This open question has always intrigued long-time fans.
The NCIS and Origins crossover is designed to finally answer that question, revealing the paths these two took after Gibbs disappeared from their lives.
🤩 The Casting Shock: Moynihan and Henry
The choice to cast two actors with strong comedic backgrounds for characters known for their juvenile antics is brilliant. It ensures that while the storyline will be poignant, it will retain the necessary touch of light-hearted absurdity.
Bobby Moynihan as Older Woody
- The Transformation: Moynihan, famous for his impeccable comedic timing and ability to play lovable goofballs, is set to play the adult Woody. Woody was often the leader of the duo, the one with the more outrageous ideas.
- The Implication: Moynihan’s casting implies that adult Woody likely retains his mischievous streak but may have channeled it into a less destructive, possibly bureaucratic, or surprisingly successful career path—or, conversely, he could be the petty criminal who finally gets caught by the grown-up NCIS team.
- The Comedy Element: Moynihan’s involvement guarantees scenes of comic relief, likely involving an exasperated Parker or McGee dealing with a character that reminds them acutely of the kind of weird encounters only Gibbs could handle.
Ely Henry as Grown-Up Phil
- The Nuanced Comedian: Henry, known for his nuanced, often anxious or awkward comedic roles in shows like Veep or Silicon Valley, will play Phil. Phil was typically the more easily led, slightly nervous sidekick.
- The Emotional Core: Henry’s casting suggests Phil’s path may be the more emotionally complex one. He might be the one who genuinely got his life together, or he might be the one Woody drags back into trouble. His performance is likely to deliver the episode’s poignancy, representing the life that could have been changed for the better by Gibbs’ intervention.
🧭 The Crossover Plot: Tying the Past to the Present
The specific plot details remain under wraps, but the structure of the NCIS/Origins crossover is designed to show the full-circle nature of Gibbs’s legacy.
The Two-Part Narrative
- NCIS: Origins Connection (The Setup): The Origins timeline, focused on Young Gibbs, will feature an episode where he first encounters Woody and Phil as children. This scene will establish the nature of their relationship—perhaps Young Gibbs is investigating a crime they witnessed or committed. This sequence will plant the seed of how Young Gibbs chose to handle these kids, setting up a consequence that resonates decades later.
- NCIS (The Payoff): The main NCIS team (Parker, McGee, Torres) will investigate a case in the present day that unexpectedly leads them to adult Woody and Phil. The crime they are investigating—perhaps an artifact theft, a complex scam, or even a murder that Woody and Phil are involved in—will force them to confront the life choices they made. The key twist is that the case will somehow echo the initial crime or situation that brought them into contact with Young Gibbs decades ago.
The central emotional thread will be McGee’s and Torres’s realization that they are dealing with relics from their former mentor’s past—a tangible manifestation of Gibbs’s quiet, lasting influence. The episode will explore whether Gibbs’s tough-love mentoring style truly paid off, or if fate—and the allure of easy trouble—ultimately won.
🎬 Conclusion: A Moment of Franchise Harmony
The surprise casting of Bobby Moynihan and Ely Henry as the older versions of Woody and Phil for an NCIS/Origins crossover is a brilliant piece of fan service and strategic storytelling.
It utilizes the strength of the new prequel to enrich the history of the original series while providing the flagship show with a fresh, emotionally resonant case that honors the legacy of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The humor brought by Moynihan and Henry, coupled with the pathos of seeing childhood mischief-makers confront their adult realities, ensures this crossover episode will be one of the most memorable and highly-rated events of the season, successfully bridging the vast, decades-spanning NCIS universe.
