Ely

Yes, NCIS and NCIS: Origins may take place 30 years apart, but the upcoming crossover will still feature some of the same characters in both hours (including Vera, played by Diany Rodriguez and Roma Maffia) — and actors as well!

TV Insider has learned exclusively that Bobby Moynihan and Ely Henry will be playing older versions of their Origins characters, forensic analyst Woody and chemist Phil, on the mothership. We also have exclusive photos offering a first look at the two alongside Torres (Wilmer Valderrama). See them above and below.

For the crossover, the two shows swap timeslots, so that the action begins on Origins, with a death of a naval officer in a small town. Then, on NCIS, a prison break leads to the present-day team reopening the case.

The executive producers across the two shows — David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal on Origins and Steven D. Binder on NCIS — all agree that Moynihan and Henry are hilarious.

“We just adore them, and we knew it would be a treat to see them later on,” North tells us. “Also for us on Origins, Gina and I have a plan for certain of our characters and in some, we don’t want to give away whether they’re still around or alive in 33 years because we want to stick with the plan that we have. But you get breaking news here, Woody and Phil survive NCIS: Origins, no matter how many seasons it lasts.”

As for what brings them in on NCIS, “they’re going to have a piece of evidence that’s pivotal to the case,” says Binder. “They’re hysterical. I was on set while they were shooting and the writer [Marco Schnabel] was laughing hysterically with it. I walked out, and he was laughing hysterically with his headphones on, and I said, ‘It’s bad form to laugh at your own work like that.’ And he goes, ‘They’re just off in their own world right now. They’re doing their own thing.’”

He echoes what North pointed out, that this shows that Woody and Phil survive Origins and beyond. (We already knew Vera would, since Maffia previously appeared on the mothership.)

“Here’s the danger in doing an episode like this. These are cop shows. People have gotten killed over the years. We lost Jenny Shepard [Lauren Holly]. We lost Mike Franks [Muse Watson]. We lost Ziva’s father [Michael Nouri]. Vance [Rocky Carroll] lost his wife [Paula Newsome]. We lose a lot of people. I think that lessens the drama a little bit, knowing that there aren’t any real stakes. There’s real stakes to these shows,” Binder explains.

He continues, “And if somebody appears 30 years in the future, well, they become a superhero on NCIS: Origins. Any situation they go into, you will never really feel that they’re in jeopardy because you’ve seen them alive. So, what characters did David and Gina want to bestow that superhero power to? That sort of drove a lot of it, was if we show them 30 years from now, then they can never be in mortal danger again. And Woody and Phil just seemed like the right people to not want to ever play that card with because they’re a different sort of ingredient on that show. And also you could bring the two of them together, the two peas in a pod. They’re sort of like a little unit, and we are a humor-based show, and those guys are funny.”

What are you hoping to see when Bobby Moynihan and Ely Henry’s Woody and Phil cross over? Let us know in the comments section below.

NCIS & NCIS: Origins Crossover, Tuesday, November 11, 8/7c, CBS