Summary
It’s a busy time for theDextershowrunner, Clyde Phillips, with the announcement of Michael C. Hall’s return inDexter: Resurrection, and production well underway for the prequel series,Dexter: Original Sin,both of which he is part of.Paramount’s merger with Showtime has led to an interest in expanding the Dexter universe, and this appears to have prompted the biggest ever retcon in the series' history, with the revelation that Dexter survived the events ofDexter: New Blood, despite Clyde Phillips previously confirming his death.
Dexter: New Bloodwas Showtime’s biggest ever success in terms of ratings, and this led to discussions taking place for aHarrison spin-off series, but these plans were scrapped, and a prequel series,Dexter: Original Sin, was announced instead. However,Phillips and his writing team began working on an idea to continue Dexter’s story postNew Blood, andDexter: Resurrectionwas confirmedby him and Michael C. Hall at San Diego Comic Con 2024.
The Ending of Dexter: New Blood Has Been Retconned But The Sequel Series Could Fix The Problems Fans Have With Both Finales
DexterandDexter: New Blood’s finales both failedto stick the landing, in the eyes of many fans. However, it was very unexpected when showrunner, Clyde Phillips announced thatNew Bloodwouldn’t actually be the end after all, with MIchael C. Hall set to return inthe upcomingDextersequel series.
Fans began wondering how this was possible after Dexter died from a gunshot wound to the chest, courtesy of his teenage son, Harrison.There wasn’t any ambiguity with this ending, and Clyde Phillips even confirmed Dexter’s fateduring aninterview with Deadlineafter the release ofDexter: New Blood’s final episode in 2022:
I have three words for you: Dexter is dead. I wouldn’t do that to the audience. It would be dishonest. Here, there is no question that this is the finale ofDexter. Dexter is dead.
One of two things possibly happened here: Clyde Phillips had a sudden change of heart about killing Dexter, and was so keen to give the fans the ending they deserved, that he begged Paramount and Showtime to let him create a sequel series to right all the wrongs of both finales. Or, upon discovering what a resounding successDexter: New Bloodwas, Paramount and Showtime realized the potential to make more money with the Dexter universe, and hired Clyde Phillips and his team of writers tostart coming up with possible ways that they could retcon the ending ofDexter: New Blood, and keep Dexter alive.
Despite claiming Dexter was dead, and that it would be dishonest to the audience to claim otherwise, Clyde Phillips did exactly that to the audience, and he is gearing up to start work onDexter: Resurrection, with a planned release date in summer 2025. However, it isn’t all bad news, asDexter’s return could actually fix the problems fans had with both finales, and end the series on a better note that could ultimately appease the loyal fanbase.
Dexter: Resurrection Needs To Be Great Or It’ll Risk Losing The Fans Due To The Retcon Of Dexter’s Death
If Clyde Phillips and the rest of theDexter: Resurrectionwriter’s room come up with a great concept, and the sequel series is lauded as the bestDexterseries ever, fans will forgive Clyde Phillips for lying to them about Dexter’s fate. However,ifDexter: Resurrectionis badly executed, it risks losing the fans forever.
IfDexter: Resurrectionresults in a third successive ‘ending’ that the large majority of the fans hate, it could be curtains for the whole franchise. Despite the ending ofDexter: New Bloodbeing a big disappointment to many fans, it was at least a definitive end to Dexter’s story, in contrast to the originalDexterseries back in 2013.
Michael C. Hall elaborated a little bit more on his return inDexter: Resurrection, in aninterview with Variety, where he confirmed that the spin-off sequel won’t be a limited series, which could be a cause for concern.It appears this new iteration ofDextercould go on for multiple seasons, with no end in sight.The whole point ofDexter: New Bloodwas to finally end a show that was on its last legs after eight long seasons.
Clyde Phillips wasn’t responsible for the divisive ending to the originalDexterseries, as he’d left his role of showrunner after the much praised fourth season back in 2009. In fact, he had analternate ending that could be used inDexter: Resurrection, that was considerably better than the one fans got in 2013. But this ending has been in circulation for many years now, and it wouldn’t be surprising enough for fans if it was used.Phillips and his team will have to come up with something different inDexter:Resurrectionthat satisfies the majority of fans.It’s not likeDexter: New Bloodwas one of thoseTV shows that had the perfect ending and has kept going, meaning there is potential forDexter: Resurrection’s retcon to ultimately be a good thing.
