The showrunner explains how the character managed to survive his near-fatal wounds.
Dexter: Original Sin has arrived, with the first episode now available and the rest of the 10-episode season ahead. In the opening moments of the series premiere, first released on December 13, it is revealed that Dexter Morgan lives. The episode shows Dexter being transported from the snowy woods of Iron Lake to a nearby hospital, where doctors manage to revive him despite catastrophic blood loss from the gunshot wound inflicted by his own son.
During the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con Dexter: Original Sin Panel, it was announced that Michael C. Hall will reprise his role as Dexter Morgan in a sequel series to Dexter: New Blood titled Dexter: Resurrection. The news was met with enthusiasm from fans. Following the announcement, Hall spoke to Variety and teased Dexter's fate after his confrontation with Harrison and the dramatic aftermath. "It's really cold out there," Hall remarked cryptically at the time.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter following the premiere of Dexter: Original Sin on Paramount+ with Showtime, showrunner Clyde Phillips explained why he and Hall chose to change Dexter’s fate and reignite the franchise's legacy. He also provided a scientific rationale for how Dexter survived the gunshot wound in the final episode of the miniseries Dexter: New Blood, titled "Sins of the Father."
Here’s what Phillips had to say:
“As we learn at the beginning of Resurrection, if Dexter had been shot on a summer’s day, he would have died. But he was shot in zero-degree temperatures in the snow. He didn’t bleed out, and they were able to save him. That’s how we were able to resurrect him.”
According to Phillips, this explanation—aligning with the one Michael C. Hall shared months ago—will be further explored in Dexter: Resurrection, slated to premiere in June 2025. Filming for the series is set to begin in New York, among other locations, during the first week of January.