Is Michael Weatherly Returning to ‘NCIS’ in 2023?

With NCIS fully staffed for season 20, there is always interest in the possibility of a guest star return from one of the previous cast members, especially Mark Harmon as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs or Michael Weatherly as Anthony DiNozzo.

Today, in a New Year’s Day tweet in response to a fan saying his wish for 2023 would be to watch DiNozzo and Ziva (Cote de Pablo) reuniting, Weatherly, who last appeared on NCIS in the season 13 finale, posted a cryptic answer: “Stay tuned… for this might be an interesting year for such ‘moments’”!

In past conversations with NCIS showrunner Steven D. Binder, he has always said he is open to the possibility. And in an interview Parade did with Sean Murray, he said, “I talk to Michael all the time, so we joke about that possibility sometimes.”

We did have the return of de Pablo as Ziva in season 17 with the implication that she would be joining Tony and their daughter Tali in Paris when she wrapped up some unfinished business, so, now that we’re in season 20, it would be interesting to see how the couple is faring—if they are still together!

Weatherly, who was filming Bull at the time of Ziva’s return to NCIS, did not appear in any of those episodes, but now that Bull has wrapped, it is possible that the couple could make a guest star appearance—and Weatherly’s tweet does nothing to dissuade the idea.

Related: Daddy Duty Helps Special Agent Timothy McGee Solve One of the Most Unusual Murders on NCIS

Realistically, though, Binder told TV Line in September 2022 that it would be great, but not likely.

“When [Michael] left NCIS, he said to me, ‘I am never going to do network television again.’ He had just had some kids, and the hours are so long… but then this Bull thing landed in his lap, and again he was working like a fiend. So, I suspect—forgetting Tony DiNozzo for a minute—that Michael Weatherly is on vacation. I’ve known him for a while, and I think he needs to chillax and go someplace tropical. I haven’t spoken to him about that, but we’ve talked over the years, and that’s my guess.”

That said, fans are urging Weatherly to return. @Slags68 wrote, ‘Pretty please with sugar on top!!!! I miss Tony and Ziva, even more so since Gibbs/Mark Harmon left. The current mix of characters aren’t keeping my interest as much.”

But @GAgirl_47, kind of said what a lot of us are thinking, “Don’t tease us like that! Been waiting for that reunion for a long time!”

NCIS returns with all new episodes on Monday, Jan. 9 when the first-ever three-way crossover between NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and NCIS: Hawaii will air on CBS.