With his show Bull ending, Michael Weatherly is free from television commitments. Many fans of NCIS are wondering if that means that the former long-term cast member will return to the CBS procedural. While fans would love to see Weatherly return to the role that made him, it’s unlikely he will immediately return to the NCIS franchise. Still, the producers are aware of how much it is something that the fans want.

According to Newsweek, Stephen D. Binder, an executive producer and showrunner for NCIS, recently addressed the possibility of Weatherly returning. Binder said in a TV Insider interview that came after the NCIS Season 19 finale:

"I absolutely would love to do something like that. The last conversation I had with him was that he's going to take some time off and rest because he went from a very difficult schedule on NCIS to headlining his own show for six years, through COVID, but I can say that I consider him a friend, so it's not a difficult conversation to have with him. It's just a question of whether or not it works out."

Weatherly has teased returning to NCIS multiple times in the past, although nothing has ever come of those teases. For example, in July of 2021, Weatherly posted a throwback photo from the NCIS set on his Twitter account, causing many to speculate that he might be returning for the 19th season of the show. Due to his commitment for Bull, however, he did not.

The biggest question is whether or not Weatherly is even interested in reprising his role as Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. For that, we must take the actor’s own words from an interview in 2018. Before Cote De Pablo’s Ziva David returned for her arc in Season 17, Weatherly had this to say about the characters of Ziva and DiNozzo:

“Yes I believe Ziva is alive and I will always be ready to play DiNozzo when the time is right..."

Clearly, the actor is willing to return should the proper opportunity present itself.

Related:

But Could Tony DiNozzo Even Return?

When last we saw Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo as Michael Weatherly left NCIS to head Bull, DiNozzo had left NCIS to take care of the daughter he had had with fellow NCIS and former Moussad agent Ziva David, played by Cote De Pablo, whom he believed had been killed. In an effort to keep their daughter as safe as possible, he had settled in Paris.

Long after Weatherly left the show, De Pablo’s Ziva David returned for a several-episode arc. This arc culminated with an off-screen reunion between Ziva and DiNozzo, and the two characters are reportedly living together in Paris and taking care of their daughter together.

That being said, DiNozzo is still alive and left NCIS on good terms. There is little reason to think that he could not return at any time, especially with his family safe. It is simply up to whether or not Weatherly is up for the grueling filming schedule once more.