Things are about to get fowl on NCIS: Origins.
On Thursday, CBS announced that Adam Campbell, who previously portrayed a younger version of Donald “Ducky” Mallard on the flagship NCIS series, will make his debut as Young Ducky on prequel series NCIS: Origins this fall.
Campbell will appear in a special tribute episode to actor David McCallum, who originated the role of Ducky and played the character for 20 seasons of NCIS. McCallum died in Sept. 2023, and the flagship series dedicated an episode to his farewell in Feb. 2024.
The Origins episode will also feature McCallum’s iconic rock song, “The Edge.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/Adam-Campbell-NCIS-082825-37c4775dea2f4ac1af3ab936722109c7.jpg)
“We wanted to do this episode to honor the memory of our dear friend David McCallum,” said co-showrunners Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North in a statement. “He was a beloved member of the NCIS family for so many years and we’re incredibly lucky to have the talented Adam Campbell back to bring the younger version of this iconic character to life once again. We even got to feature David’s music in the episode. We’re all very excited and can’t wait for the fans to see it!”
The episode will follow the younger version of Ducky as he is sent to Camp Pendleton to shadow Franks (Kyle Schmidt) and the team while they work a case. Ducky will also reconnect with Gibbs (Austin Stowell) as we learn how they crossed paths years earlier.
NCIS: Origins debuted in fall 2024 following the beginnings of Gibbs’ days with NCIS, then known as NIS. Under the tutelage of Mike Franks and with the support of fellow agents, Lala (Mariel Molino) and Bernard “Randy” Randolf (Caleb Foote), Gibbs learns the ins and outs of investigative work while still recovering from the trauma of his wife and child’s murder.
The season 1 finale reached an explosive conclusion when Gibbs faced scrutiny for his own vengeance killing of cartel leader Pedro Hernandez (George Paez). After Lala intervened, she raced to tell Gibbs the news (and that she loved him), only to veer off course and spiral into a fiery car crash that left her fate hanging in the balance.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/David-McCallum-NCIS-082825-9cb81febd472438f9878ff3ba95b6dab.jpg)
“This will have gigantic ramifications on him,” Stowell previously told Entertainment Weekly of the cliffhanger ending. “No matter what happens, he just cannot seem to stop hurting people. I don’t know whether it’ll make him double down on his feelings for her or make him so scared that he wants to completely retract.
“Is she dead? Is she in a coma? Is she paralyzed?” he continued. “I don’t know any of these things. I know this much: He’s going to find out that she was in a car accident after it seems like she was on the way to his house, so the guilt will only build.”