How old will Leroy Jethro Gibbs be on NCIS: Origins?

NCIS: Origins is bringing back the most iconic character in franchise history. Leroy Jethro Gibbs is going to the central focus of the spinoff, which will be set during his formative years with the Naval organization.

NCIS: Origins will take place in 1990, which is a full decade before we were introduced to Gibbs in JAG. This raises some interesting questions, particularly with regards to the character's age. Are writers going to play fast and loose with continuity, or will Gibbs' age in NCIS: Origins line up?

Austin Stowell's age lines up perfectly with the time period

Fortunately, the writers and producers behind NCIS: Origins appear to be mindful or consistency. Mark Harmon was 51 years old when he first debuted as Gibbs in the JAG episode "Ice Queen." It released in 2003, which places NCIS: Origins exactly 12 years prior. By that logic, Gibbs should be around 39 years old when the spinoff premieres.

Austin Stowell, the actor who's been tasked with playing Gibbs, is 39 years old. As far as casting to age, the NCIS: Origins team is right on the money. This means that the show will provide the rare case of an actor being able to play their age exactly, rather than a few years older or younger.

However long NCIS: Origins is on the air, Stowell will be the exact age that the character of Gibbs will be. There was obviously great care taken with regards to the casting, and the alignment of the time period, which is something executive producer Sean Harmon talked about during an ET interview.

Sean & Mark Harmon have been working on a prequel for years

Sean, who is the son of Mark Harmon, play younger versions of Gibbs during NCIS flashbacks. He knows much the character means to fans, and reportedly spent years refining the idea of a prequel series:

"This is an idea we worked on for a long time and just really happy to finally be at this point in the process," the executive producer stated. "NCIS has been a huge part of my life as well ... just getting a chance to tell this story that we're telling here is pretty special."

Stowell hasn't said much about his involvement in the show, but he's appeared during both Sean and Mark Harmon during CBS events. We gotta say, the resemblance is there. We think NCIS: Origins is going to stick the landing.