Dexter Season 9 - What We Know So Far

Spoilers for Dexter season 8 ahead. 

Audiences became entranced with Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) right from the start of his Showtime series. When the show first aired in 2006, people couldn't get enough of the man who works as a blood spatter analyst by day and a murderous vigilante who hunts down other killers at night. Dexter's ending continues to inspire debate, and even though it went off the air in 2013, people haven't lost interest. 

Dexter ended with his colleagues assuming he died in a boat crash after he attempted to leave his old life behind for a new one in Argentina. We quickly learn, however, that Dexter is actually alive and well, living under a new identity in Oregon. The show purposefully left the doors open for Dexter Morgan to return to our screens in the future, and fans have been wondering if a season 9 would ever materialize to give us true closure on Dexter's arc. 

It looks like fans should get ready to see Dexter kill again, as it's been announced Showtime has revived the series for a 10-episode season 9 (via Deadline). Michael C. Hall is expected to return along with showrunner Clyde Phillips, and here's everything else we know about the revival so far. 

A Dexter reboot has been in the works for a while. According to the Deadline report, the limited run is set to go into production at the beginning of 2021, and tentatively slated to be released in the fall of that same year. This is subject to change, so you should continue checking for updates as they become available, but Comicbook.com did confirm that production was on schedule as of December 2020, so this timeline may actually be achieved.

Deadline also snagged a quote from Gary Levine, the Co-President of Entertainment at Showtime, who said, "We would only revisit this unique character if we could find a creative take that was truly worthy of the brilliant, original series. Well, I am happy to report that Clyde Phillips and Michael C. Hall have found it, and we can't wait to shoot it and show it to the world." Phillips was a showrunner, executive producer, and writer for the series from seasons 1 to 4. He served as a consultant on several season 5 episodes, but hasn't been associated with the series since that time. While his return is a big deal, he's also not the only person coming back to the show.

The main cast members of Dexter have gone off to various projects. For instance, Michael C. Hall had a brief role on The Crown and starred alongside Adam Driver in the 2019 film The Report. According to Deadline, Hall has gone on the record saying he'd be willing to come back to the role that made him famous if the opportunity came along, and that's apparently what happened. As of right now, Hall is the only main cast member who has been confirmed to return, but there are other actors who could easily make appearances in this revival. 

We would assume we'll see David Zayas as Angel Batista and C.S. Lee as Vince Masuka also come back for this upcoming season. As for whether Jennifer Carpenter will return as Debra Morgan, who died at the end of Dexter season 8? Clyde Phillips, the showrunner ofDexter for its first four seasons, has said that it's possible Carpenter could return for the Dexter revival to portray her character in flashbacks, dreams, or memories. "There is some flexibility to do some movie magic. That's all I can say about that," he told Us Weekly. However, Phillips hasn't said for certain that she'll return, as it's a question he "can't answer" right now.

Per Screen Rant, John Cusack will allegedly be bringing a little extra star power to the new season, as well, making him the first new addition to the cast confirmed since season 9's announcement. Cusack will reportedly be playing a character named Kurt, who sure sounds like he might make a interesting potential victim for our titular anti-hero.

On November 17, 2020, The Hollywood Reporter offered up some more exciting news in the personnel department — veteran director Marcos Siega has officially signed onto the revival as an EP. He will also direct six of the planned episodes. Siega has been a long-time collaborator of Phillips'. He directed nine well-regarded episodes of Dexter over the original eight-season run, so his addition will hopefully go a long way toward achieving Phillips goal of making things right with viewers who felt personally wronged by the season 8 finale.

Beyond that, you'll need to continue checking back to see what casting news comes out in the following months. Considering Showtime wants to begin production on Dexter season 9 in early 2021, casting confirmations should arrive sooner rather than later. 

There aren't any details about what season 9 of Dexter will be about. Considering the open-ended nature of season 8, however, there are plenty of directions in which the revival could go. 

Fans have taken to Reddit and other forums to pitch their ideas of how this story could continue. When we last left Dexter Morgan, his associates believed he died, when in actuality, he made it to Oregon under a new identity. It's possible Dexter will be drawn out of isolation when a new serial killer begins making the rounds. His old companions will likely discover that he's, in fact, alive, and set out to bring him to justice. 

Phillips told TV Insider, "We're moving forward to an ending that will be, as Chekhov said, surprising but inevitable," a strangely reassuring statement considering how little substance it actually provides. In terms of substantive details, Phillips was only willing to reveal that the revival would pick up eight years after the previous finale, and would feature Dexter "somewhere we've never seen him before."

The revival could even take some cues from a real-life Dexter Morgan or follow Clyde Phillips' original ending for the show. Phillips' idea was to have Dexter captured and sentenced to death, at which point he sees his life flash before his eyes as the killers he took down in previous seasons (LaGuerta, Doakes, and the Trinity Killer) appear to him as visions (via Digital Spy). Season 9 could easily lead up to this moment in which Dexter takes down one more serial killer before finally having to answer for his crimes. 

On February 25, Showtime released the first image of Michael C. Hall returning to his iconic role, and though cool the image sheds almost no light on the potential plot, so not much help there. More details are certain to emerge in the coming months, and for fans who couldn't get enough of Dexter Morgan's crimes, this announcement comes as very good news. Stay tuned for updates as they become available.