Coming Soon
'Dexter' Revival Star Michael C Hall and Series Producers Reveal Surprising New Details
- Details
- Category: Coming Soon
- Published: Sunday, 25 July 2021 18:07
Michael C. Hall, his new costar Julia Jones, and Dexter showrunners/producers converged at a Comic Con@Home panel to reveal details about the new upcoming Showtime revival which picks up nine years after the finale. A new teaser trailer was also released with the premiere date of November 7. The cast and producers dropped some pretty big bombshells in the panel, which we outline below.
First and foremost, the original executive producer and showrunner for the first four seasons, Clyde Phillips announced some old familiar faces will return in spectacular fashion. “I will say there will be some returning cast members from the original series that will make some people’s heads explode.” Does that mean someone comes back from the dead?
The Dexter revival comes eight years after the conclusion of the serial killer story, and the 10-episode limited series picks up in the present day. Showrunner and executive producer Scott Reynolds reveals that Hall requested specifically that it be set in modern times versus immediately picking up right after events of the finale. He didn’t want a Dexter season 9.
Everyone on the panel didn’t hide the fact that fans weren’t the only ones disappointed with Dexter's fate in season 8. Hall described the finale in negative adjectives and the revival was a chance to rectify the “mystifying” ending. He acknowledged it was a “huge part of returning.”
Reynolds adds that the ambiguous issues raised in the finale regarding Dexter’s Oregon connection and the sound of chainsaws will be addressed. “That’s what we answer in this new season,” says Reynolds.
The producers also clarify details from the new trailer. In the new preview, Dexter Morgan has assumed a new identity as Jim “Jimbo” Lindsay and lives in a small town in Iron Lake, NY. Dexter’s new surname honors the author Jeff Lindsay who created the character in “Darkly Dreaming Dexter.”
Julia Jones plays his love interest but she also happens to be the town’s police chief and the first woman of color to assume that role. Philips says the Angela character will face some adversary as well because of her background as a Seneca nation woman. However, Hall reveals he may be dating the town Sheriff simply to access police information now that he’s a civilian.
Hall revealed Dexter’s state of mind in this new town where everyone knows each other. “I think we see Dexter having made a choice to go into a self-imposed exile and I think he’s doing a very, very long protracted penance for the people who’ve died who were close to him but not intended victims because of how he’d been living or perhaps playing fast and loose with the code, says the actor. “I think he’s someone who has made an attempt to take some responsibility for the ramifications of his behavior.
Does that mean he’s no longer hunting down serial killers and disposing of them? “He’s exercising the power of his restraint,” he says. “He’s hoping to abstain, but maybe not.” But Hall contradicts himself by stating, “He maintains a fantasy that he can do both,” in reference to living a normal life and killing. However Phillips chimes in to clarify Hall’s skirting around the issue. “The show is called Dexter, someone’s going to die.”
As a limited series, we may only get one season out of the revival, and it seems that may be the case with how Phillips describing the new season’s finale as “shocking, stunning, surprising, and unexpected” He added, “Without jinking anything. I will say that the ending of this new season will blow up the internet.” He also gives insight into their writing process. They come up with the ending and work their way backward with events leading up to the finale.
Behind the Scenes Details
Director and executive producer Marcos Siega who also directed the original series, says the new season was a challenge because they shot out of order. All the exteriors were shot during the winter months in western Massachusetts in freezing weather. The frozen lake and snow featured in the original teaser trailer was an actual lake with natural snow around it. The interior shots began production in June in much warmer weather. For Hall, the freezing cold was not the most challenging. Picking up an interior scene that continued from an outside scene months later was more difficult for the actor.
The production also started during the pandemic. They tested regularly, maintained social distancing and everyone but the actors wore masks. Storywise, the only other effect it had on the production was a scene that involved a church scene. Since it required a large number of people in a single setting, they changed it due to Covid restrictions.
As expected we didn’t get all the answers Dexter fans were looking for, but these new details certainly whetted our appetites for the show’s return on November 7.