Ziva may return in NCIS season 12, according to one of the stars of the show.
Cote de Pablo’s return has long been subject to rumors and speculation, but now there seems to be confirmation that she will come at one point--possibly this season.
“I am sure they will see each other again, and I’m deeply fascinated by what kind of fireworks would result,” Michael Weatherly (Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo) told TVGuide. “I absolutely know that it would not be without some explosive quality.”
Show creator Gary Glasberg and Weatherly both said they'd welcome a storyline that brings de Pablo and her beloved character back.
“We didn’t kill her,” Glasberg said. “So, Ziva’s still out there and she’s still alive. ... We'll just have to see what happens.”
A big question on everyone’s mind is why Tony isn’t keeping Ziva in his life through video conferencing or any other 21st century technology.
“A lot of people have approached me about the idea of not shutting the door entirely on [their staying in touch], and I’m not opposed to it,” Glasberg told TVLine earlier this year.
“But it has to be done in a way where it feels organic to the storytelling and we’re not just throwing in lines about Ziva here and there.”
For example, “If Tony’s in a personal relationship or there’s something significant happening for him and he wondered how she would respond, then maybe we can figure out a way to do it. It’s a valid issue to bring up.”
At the same time, if the relationship lives on, then Tony doesn’t grow as a person and agent.
“We’re as sensitive to him moving forward post-Ziva as the rest of the world is,” Glasberg also said, because doing so “gives him the opportunity to grow and try things and meet people and move on.”
Tens of thousands of fans have voted in online petitions to have Cote de Pablo return.
NCIS season 12 premieres on September 23.
CBS released a description of the first episode, which is titled “Twenty Klicks.”
“Gibbs and McGee travel to Russia to safely escort home an NCIS computer engineer connected to classified intel, but their mission is compromised and they are forced to go off the grid while hunted by a Russian mercenary group,” it says.
“Meanwhile, the team in D.C. frantically uses every asset and inter-agency contact they have in an attempt to locate their missing team members.”
