‘Dexter’ Season 9 Petition Demands Michael C. Hall’s Return — We Need A Dexter Reboot, Not A Spinoff Sequel

Will Dexter return to TV screens ever? A petition is demanding that Michael C. Hall return for Dexter Season 9 in order to give some sort of conclusion to the story, although at this point Dexter Morgan is so removed from the old cast that a continuation would seem impossible. Other ideas involve a Dexter spinoff sequel by Showtime, but is it possible they could do a Dexter reboot based upon the book series?

In a related report by the Inquisitr, the rumors surrounding Dexter Season 9 were jumpstarted when the Dexter Twitter account suddenly came alive during Thanksgiving week. In addition, Showtime boss David Nevins spoke at a TCA press tour panel earlier in 2015, and of course, Dexter’s return was one of the questions fielded.

” ‘Dexter’ is the one show that I would think about [continuing]. It’s a question of when the timing is right. If there’s a willingness to do it, I would certainly listen. Certainly I’d look at ‘Dexter,’ ” he said.

Back in 2013, showrunner Scott Buck also explained that the Dexter finale had always planned to kill off Debra Morgan. Essentially, the Dexter Morgan character has a new code, where his plan is to avoid all human contact in a self-imposed exile.

“The only real variation was what he would be doing,” Buck said, according to Entertainment Weekly. “I knew he would be in a self-imposed prison that would be as far from Miami as possible. We’d find him working in some solitary environment where even if other people were around he would make no contact and not talk to anyone. We would follow him home and he would have no human contact.”

Fans were not exactly thrilled with the ending of the show, and perhaps Showtime’s bosses realized they had made an error. In January of 2015, Nevins also clarified any possibility of Dexter Season 9 by saying that a sequel would require Michael C. Hall to rejoin Dexter’s cast, but the story would also need to be dramatically different.

“It would have to involve Michael. I would only do it with Michael,” Negins explained, according to Screen Crush. “It remains to be seen if they’re going to want to do it, if I’m going to want to do it. They never felt like killing Dexter is the right end. I think that show is that character. If we were to do it, I would want to do Dexter in a new concept and configuration. I would want the show to feel different and not just be a continuation of the old show.”

Obviously, this means that showing the Dexter character stuck in the lumberjack purgatory is probably off the table. Nevins also revealed that “no one even brought up the idea” of killing off Dexter himself as an ending, which is a finale you can’t walk away from without jumping the shark.

Dexter Reboot Better Than A Spinoff?

Fans of the Dexter book series know that the TV show went in a completely different direction after Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Characters even had different names, and it could be argued that both Dexter and Debra had noticeably different personalities. In fact, Debra is actually named Deborah in the books, and when she discovered Dexter’s secret she chose to accept it with finality.

[Please note that if a Dexter reboot does focus on the books, then the following could be considered spoilers.]

One of the biggest differences between the two stories is that Rita Morgan is never murdered by the Trinity Killer Arthur Mitchell. Even James Doakes (who is called Albert) is alive, although he loses much of his body due to the serial killer Dr. Danco in Dearly Devoted Dexter.

Another major plot point is that Brian Moser, aka The Ice Truck Killer, is almost like a clone of Dexter in the books. In fact, they are so close in appearance that when Dexter and Deborah find a photo with Brian near dismembered corpses, they believe that Dexter must be the serial killer. The older brother is also known as the Tamiami Slasher, and he never dies so he ends up returning multiple times in other books.

This killer family also gets extended dramatically when Cody and Astor Bennett, Dexter’s step children, also turn out to have their own Dark Passenger to deal with. In the TV show, the Dark Passenger is a nickname for Dexter’s psychological condition, but in the novels it is a real spiritual entity that infects people with the desire to kill.

Given these dramatic differences between the Dexter TV series and book series, it would seem that we need a Dexter reboot, not Dexter Season 9. Not to mention, most ideas surrounding a Dexter spinoff focused on having Debra Morgan be the main role, but obviously that’s now impossible due to the Season 8 finale.

Petition Demands Dexter’s Return

Whatever the show runners decided to do the end, all the fans know is that they want more. A community petition on Avaaz has suddenly found new life, even though it was first started in September of 2013. Most other petitions have already been closed due to time passing, but this Dexter petition has been gaining signatures in recent days due to the Dexter Season 9 rumors. Unfortunately, the petition is a long way off from the 100,000 signatures required, but maybe the fans can make it happen.

Would you prefer a Dexter reboot or some sort of sequel or spinoff?

[Image via Showtime]