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who will replace vance on ncis

Right now, there is no official confirmation of who will replace Director Leon Vance on NCIS , either inside the show’s story or in real‑world casting news.

Is Vance actually leaving?

  • Recent coverage has talked about setting up Leon Vance’s possible retirement in season 22, but as a future possibility, not a done deal.
  • As of the latest updates, Rocky Carroll is still credited as NCIS Director Leon Vance and being promoted as such in current season material.

So the show is clearly teasing the idea that Vance might step down, but hasn’t pulled the trigger on a permanent exit yet.

Who could replace Vance on NCIS?

Since nothing is confirmed, everything is speculation based on the show’s hierarchy and fan theories:

  1. Alden Parker (Gary Cole)
    • He already leads the MCRT and has become the central authority figure after Gibbs, making him an obvious internal candidate if the writers wanted a promotion storyline.
 * A promotion would echo how Gibbs once dominated the show’s leadership energy, just at a different rung of the ladder.
  1. A brand‑new director character
    • One ScreenRant analysis specifically notes that when Vance leaves, the open director seat will put the agency in a “vulnerable spot,” since “anyone can take over.”
 * That language strongly hints that the creative team may prefer to introduce a fresh face at the top, much like they once did with Vance himself replacing Jenny Shepard.
  1. Promotion of an existing recurring higher‑up
    • The show has occasionally brought in other senior officials; raising one of them to series regular as director would let the writers shake up the power dynamic without touching the core field team.

At this point, though, no trade outlet or official CBS/NCIS announcement has named a successor.

How fans are reading the signs

Forum and social chatter (plus entertainment sites) tend to spin a few key ideas:

  • The “Vance retirement setup” episodes are read as the writers giving themselves an escape hatch: if Rocky Carroll ever leaves, the groundwork is already there.
  • Because the show already went through a big leadership transition when Mark Harmon’s Gibbs left and Gary Cole’s Parker came in, many fans think the producers might avoid another abrupt leadership shock and instead go with a gradual introduction of a new director‑type character.
  • Others argue that NCIS loves “legacy” promotions, so a familiar name like Parker moving up while someone else steps into his team‑leader role would fit the pattern seen with other replacements (for example, how Dale Sawyer is now framed as a spiritual successor to DiNozzo in season 23).

Where things stand now

  • Officially: Vance is still director , and the show has only set up the possibility that he might retire.
  • Unofficially: Speculation is lively, but there is no confirmed answer yet to “who will replace Vance on NCIS.”

Bottom line: if you see anyone claiming a specific named replacement right now, they’re guessing, not quoting confirmed casting or storyline news.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.