Cote De Pablo Signs On For Chilean Miner Movie, But NCIS Return Still Possible

Cote de Pablo is ready to kick off her her post-NCIS career, signing on to star in a movie about the 2010 rescue of 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for more than two months.

Cote is joining Antonio Bandares, Juliette Binoche, and Rodrigo Santoro in The 33, which is currently production in Chile with Patricia Riggen directing. The 33 will be a homecoming for Cote de Pablo, who was born in Chile and whose mother still lives there. She plays a wife of one of the miners.

Cote de Pablo left NCIS in July after failing to reach a new contract with CBS and the show’s producer, CBS TV Studios. The network noted that it did all it could to keep Cote on board, but ultimately it was her decision to part ways with the show.

“We offered Cote de Pablo a lot of money — and then we offered even more money. We didn’t want to lose her,” said CBS chief Les Moonves.

At the time de Pablo said she never intended to leave NCIS, but offered few details as to why negotiations went south.

“As far as my decision to leave, that’s a personal thing, and I’d rather leave it at that… The idea of leaving was not something I toyed around with for a long time. It was an overwhelmingly hard thing — at times terrifying,” Cote de Pablo told TV Guide.

But there is still a chance that Cote de Pablo could come back to NCIS, even if not as a full-time character. She kept the door open for a return, noting that the show has been known to recall old characters — and even dead ones.

“The greatest thing about this last episode is that Ziva doesn’t die,” she said. “As long as a character doesn’t die, the character can always come back. Not that it would actually matter, because we bring back characters from the dead all the time on NCIS.”

Cote de Pablo can be seen in The 33, which is slated for release sometime later this year.