NCIS season 18: Should door be left open for Maria Bello return?

There’s a good chance you’ve seen the reports at this point that Maria Bello is leaving NCIS after playing Jack Sloane the past three seasons. She’ll still be around for eight more episodes, and that seems to be it. Maria herself has yet to discuss a potential departure, but that may change in the weeks and months to come.

So while we wait to get some more news about a potential exit, let’s look a little bit to the future and start discussing something else instead: A possible return down the road. Yes, we are very much getting ahead of ourselves here with these sort of thoughts, but how can you not? We’ve come to root for Sloane and Gibbs, and we like the friendships and bonds that Jack has formed with some of the other members of the team.

Want some more news on NCIS in video form? Then watch our take on Sloane’s exit below! Once you do that, be sure to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube and then view our show playlist. We’ll have more news soon enough…

Obviously, whether or not Bello could return down the road depends entirely on how the character is written off. If Sloane is killed, then of course there is no hope for a return. Yet, we remain hopeful that we’ll see Jack survive and through that, this hope is still there. NCIS had a tendency at one point to kill off beloved actors — think about Caitlin Todd, Clayton Reeves, or even Ziva David until they brought her back from the dead. We don’t think they need to dive into these murky waters again for a number of different reasons.

What’s the most important one? Hope. We all need it right now. There are so many people in this world who are dealing with real-life sadness and need some sort of escape. If Sloane does have to leave this season, it means a lot to believe that she could come back. Even if she doesn’t, you are giving yourself more creative possibilities. We’re not at a point where Sloane would always stay with the team no matter the circumstances; there are ways they could write the character off, even if there are feelings there for Gibbs.

We’ll see what the writers decide but, for now, we’re crossing our fingers that the door will be left open at least to a certain extent.

Related News – Be sure to get some more news on NCIS, including how Sloane could be written off

Do you think the door will be left open for Maria Bello to return to NCIS?

Be sure to let us know right now in the comments! Also, remember to stick around if you are interested in other news. (Photo: CBS.)

This article was written by Jessica Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.