It’s now been confirmed that James Remar will be reprising his role as Harry Morgan in Dexter: Resurrection, which means the upcoming sequel series is abandoning a great change with the Morgans from New Blood. Following the divisive ending of Showtime’s 2021 limited revival series Dexter: New Blood, the franchise has officially undone Dexter Morgan’s death, revealing instead that he was miraculously revived by doctors at the hospital. Now, the vigilante killer is returning for the new sequel series titled Dexter: Resurrection, and he’ll be joined by some familiar faces.
In addition to Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, Showtime’s Dexter: Resurrection is confirmed to be bringing back franchise cast members David Zayas as Angel Batista, Jack Alcott as Harrison Morgan, and James Remar as Harry Morgan. Although Harry Morgan died about 15 years before the start of Dexter’s original show, Remar was a series regular, as Harry often appeared in flashbacks and in visions as Dexter’s moral compass. Harry was notably absent from New Blood and is currently being played by Christian Slater in Dexter: Original Sin’s prequel series cast, so Remar’s return comes as somewhat of a surprise.
James Remar’s Dexter: Resurrection Return Means Harry Will Be The Dark Passenger Instead Of Deb
Deb Took Over As The Dark Passenger In Dexter: New Blood
With James Remar playing Harry Morgan as a series regular in Dexter: Resurrection, the implication is that he’s back as Dexter’s “Dark Passenger.” While he played that role all throughout Dexter’s original series, Harry stopped being the dead Morgan family member that Dexter imagined himself talking to in New Blood. Instead, the limited revival series revealed that Debra Morgan became Dexter’s Dark Passenger after her death in Dexter’s original series finale. Throughout New Blood, it was Deb’s ghost who was always in Dexter’s ear and served as his moral guide rather than their father.
Dexter: Resurrection is confirmed to premiere in summer 2025.
However, though the exact reason is still unknown, that change is being undone in Dexter: Resurrection. Harry is back to being Dexter’s “Dark Passenger” after the titular killer was shot by his son, Harrison, and subsequently brought back to life, which leaves some questions about why Deb is no longer the physical manifestation of his moral compass. Since Deb actress Jennifer Carpenter isn’t currently attached to Dexter: Resurrection yet, it can be speculated that Remar was asked to return instead.
Now that Dexter is a killer again after New Blood, it makes sense that Harry’s ghost would return to guide him through the Code in Dexter: Resurrection.
There are also some potential narrative explanations for Harry returning to his position as Dexter’s Dark Passenger. Deb’s ghost held Dexter’s hand as he died (briefly) in New Blood’s ending, so that moment may have already seen him effectively say goodbye to his sister’s constant influence over his thoughts and guilt. Furthermore, Deb becoming his Dark Passenger was a manifestation of his guilt and feeling responsible for causing her death by not killing Oliver Saxon, whereas Harry’s imagined presence was as his teacher.
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Until she died, Deb was Dexter’s living moral compass, and his guilt over her demise and desire to keep her presence in his life outweighed the need for Harry’s memory to guide his actions as a serial killer. Additionally, for the decade leading up to New Blood’s story, Dexter hadn’t been killing at all, and Deb’s hallucinated influence and moral guidance helped dissuade him from implementing the Code of Harry again. However, now that Dexter is a killer again after New Blood, it makes sense that Harry’s ghost would return to guide him through the Code in Dexter: Resurrection.
Why Deb Becoming Dexter’s Dark Passenger Was Such A Great Change For New Blood
Deb’s Memory Helped Keep Dexter From Being A Killer For A Decade
Dexter hallucinating Harry as his moral guide was almost as crucial to the original Dexter’s unique formula as his iconic voiceover narration, so it was a big adjustment to have that role go to Deb instead in New Blood. However, Deb taking over this function really worked and gave that aspect more poignancy, highlighting how much his guilt over his crimes and the hurt he caused his loved ones weighed on his conscience. Additionally, if anyone was going to keep Dexter from killing in the years before New Blood, it was Deb, even if she was just a hallucination.
When they were alive, Deb and Harry were both Dexter’s moral compasses and were really the only people truly knew and loved him, so he needed a way to maintain that after their deaths and keep himself from simply being a “monster.” Deb becoming Dexter’s Dark Passenger also felt right given how much more deeply she got to know him than Harry ever could. Deb knew Dexter through each era of his life, knew his wife, knew his son, and still loved him after discovering he was a killer, so her (imagined) opinion took on more relevance by New Blood.
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Deb’s absence also would have been too big of a missing piece to ignore in Dexter: New Blood. Her death made her potential role in the revival more limited, yet becoming the Dark Passenger gave her a constant presence in the series while allowing New Blood to maintain her wit, foul-mouthed humor, and more morally correct approach to justice than Harry taught Dexter. Additionally, Deb and Dex’s very contrasting personalities helped elevate their respective characters and stories when approaching a problem together – even after her death.
Will Jennifer Carpenter Still Return As Deb In Dexter: Resurrection?
Deb’s Ghost Could Still Appear To Dexter
So far, it doesn’t appear that Jennifer Carpenter will reprise her role as Debra Morgan in Dexter: Resurrection. With James Remar returning as Harry Morgan and taking over the “Dark Passenger” role again, there’s less room for Deb to return in a recurring manner. Furthermore, with Jennifer Carpenter landing a recurring role in the cast of Paramount+’s 1923 season 2, she might already be too booked up to return for a large part in Dexter: Resurrection.
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Confirmed Returning Characters In Dexter: Resurrection |
|
|---|---|
|
Character |
Actor |
|
Dexter Morgan |
Michael C. Hall |
|
Harry Morgan |
James Remar |
|
Harrison Morgan |
Jack Alcott |
|
Angel Batista |
David Zayas |
However, it’s still possible that Jennifer Carpenter could appear as Deb in a cameo or minor role in Dexter: Resurrection. Even if Harry is his hallucinated moral guide again, Dexter can still occasionally imagine himself speaking to Deb’s ghost. At some point, he could even have Deb and Harry’s ghosts appear to him at the same time while giving contrasting advice for a twisted Morgan family reunion.
Why James Remar Is Returning As Harry Morgan Instead Of Christian Slater In Dexter: Resurrection
James Remar Is Michael C. Hall’s Harry Morgan
Image via Paramount+
Dexter: Resurrection has yet to confirm exactly why James Remar will be playing Harry Morgan again in the sequel series, despite the fact that Christian Slater is currently playing the character at the same age in Dexter: Original Sin. All throughout Dexter’s original series, Remar played Harry Morgan at the age that he died, or at an even younger age in flashbacks. Meanwhile, the timeline of Dexter: Original Sin has Christian Slater playing Harry in the year leading up to his death, as well as nearly 20 years before that in flashbacks.
Remar is Michael C. Hall’s Harry, while Slater is Patrick Gibson’s Harry.
Remar and Slater are ultimately playing the same exact Harry, so either realistically could have played him in Dexter: Resurrection. However, the decision to bring back Remar likely dealt with consistency across shows. Remar is Michael C. Hall’s Harry, while Slater is Patrick Gibson’s Harry. Considering Remar’s character is just Dexter’s own imagined version of what Harry would look like, any inconsistencies with his real-life aging could also be explained away. Overall, as disappointing as it is to not have Deb as the Dark Passenger, it’s extremely exciting to have Remar back as Harry Morgan on the small screen.
Based on the character created by author Jeff Lindsay, Showtime’s Dexter follows Miami Metro Police Department’s most skilled blood spatter analyst, Dexter Morgan, as he attempts to satisfy his Dark Passenger’s need to kill by hunting down criminals who have escaped justice. However, using the rules his adoptive father taught him to remain undiscovered, Dexter must walk the fine line of seemingly blending into society while continuously feeding his dark urges. Dexter faces several serial killers as his facade slowly crumbles around him; with every problem solved by his Dark Passenger, another one arises for his suburban fatherly life. When Dexter takes things personally or feels that the law is failing, he takes matters into his own hands and even compromises the investigations of his co-workers. Dexter aired on Showtime for eight seasons before receiving a mini-sequel series called Dexter: New Blood, which picked up ten years after the show’s events. You can buy each season for just $9.99 for Prime Day.
- Seasons
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8
- Story By
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Jeff Lindsay
- Writers
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Jeff Lindsay
, Scott Buck
, Scott Reynolds
, Tim Schlattmann
, Karen Campbell
, Melissa Rosenberg
, Kevin Maynard
, Wendy West
, Manny Coto
, Daniel Cerone
, Jace Richdale
, Drew Z. Greenberg
, Chip Johannessen
, Adam Fierro
, Jim Leonard - Showrunner
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Clyde Phillips
