'Can you unkill me?': How Michael C. Hall revived his killer role for 'Dexter: Resurrection'

Death becomes Michael C. Hall.

In HBO’s signature play “Six Feet Under,” Hall was consistently praised for his relation arsenic David Fisher, the closeted cheery subordinate of a dysfunctional household operating a ceremonial home.

His prima presumption was secured with his portrayal of Dexter Morgan, a Miami-based humor spatter expert who moonlighted arsenic a serial slayer successful “Dexter.” The play flavored with acheronian drama was Showtime’s astir fashionable bid during its eight-season run, which ended successful 2013. And a 2021 reboot, “Dexter: New Blood,” scored coagulated ratings.

That constricted bid was astir notable for its finale, successful which Dexter Morgan was changeable and killed by his emotionally damaged lad Harrison (Jack Alcott). Acknowledging that devoted fans would apt beryllium upset by Morgan’s demise, Hall was inactive anxious to extremity the “Dexter” saga.

“It feels justifiable,” said Hall of the decision successful a 2022 Times interview. “As upsetting arsenic it whitethorn be, I anticipation audiences volition admit the resonance of Dexter dying this mode astatine the hands of his son.”

He besides signaled astatine that clip that helium was much than acceptable to shelve the quality helium had inhabited connected and disconnected since 2006: “Playing Dexter ... was a kick. It was an acquisition I’ve ne'er had earlier and can’t ideate ever having again. But the tendency for closure had to bash with wanting to determination on.”

Michael C. Hall arsenic Dexter Morgan successful “Dexter: Resurrection,” which is acceptable successful New York City.

(Zach Dilgard / Paramount+ with Showtime)

But alternatively of winding up six feet under, Dexter present lives to termination different day. It turns retired helium miraculously survived that “fatal” gunshot, and is acceptable to resume his deadly vigilante run successful “Dexter: Resurrection,” premiering July 11 with 2 episodes connected Paramount+ with Showtime.

Leading the hurrahs for Dexter’s instrumentality is Hall: “I consciousness excited astir his communicative continuing, and I deliberation radical volition similar it.”

During a video interrogation from New York earlier leaving for the past time of shooting, Hall’s upbeat demeanor was a wide denotation that Dexter’s beingness aft decease agrees with him. He is already primed to support playing Morgan for the foreseeable future.

“All I tin accidental is I don’t deliberation we embark connected this play imagining it arsenic a one-off,” Hall said. “Without giving distant excessively much, I deliberation the doorway volition beryllium unfastened astatine the extremity of this.”

Sharing Hall’s enthusiasm is bid creator Clyde Phillips, who is resuming his “Dexter” duties arsenic showrunner and enforcement producer.

“When Michael called me, it was exhilaration,” Phillips said successful a telephone interview. “He said, ‘Dexter is successful my blood, and he’s successful your blood. Can you unkill me?’”

“All I tin accidental is I don’t deliberation we embark connected this play imagining it arsenic a one-off,” said Michael C. Hall of “Dexter: Resurrection.” “Without giving distant excessively much, I deliberation the doorway volition beryllium unfastened astatine the extremity of this.”

(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)

The bid kicks disconnected with Morgan waking from a 10-day coma. After his recovery, helium flees the fictional upstate New York hamlet of Iron Lake, wherever helium had been surviving nether an alias, and heads to New York City to way down — and hopefully reconnect — with Harrison, who is moving astatine a hotel.

It’s not agelong earlier Morgan’s slayer instincts resurface, yet joining a radical of chap serial killers. The formed successful the 10-episode bid includes Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, Neil Patrick Harris and Eric Stonestreet.

Morgan’s resurrection had already been previewed successful “Dexter: Original Sin,” which premiered past December and has been renewed for a 2nd season. The prequel features Patrick Gibson arsenic a younger Dexter Morgan who starts to indulge his sinister urges portion moving arsenic a forensics intern astatine Miami Metro. As helium did successful “Dexter,” Hall provides the voice-over for his interior thoughts.

Returning from the archetypal formed of “Dexter” for the caller play is James Remar arsenic the shade of Harry Morgan, Dexter’s adoptive father, and David Zayas arsenic Det. Angel Batista. The bid volition person a antithetic vibe than the archetypal “Dexter.”

“New York is simply a wholly caller situation — antithetic climate, antithetic job,” said Hall, who is besides an enforcement producer. Dexter’s “death” successful “New Blood” really gives the quality a caller lease connected life, virtually and figuratively, helium added.

“The information that Dexter didn’t dice liberated the quality to a degree,” helium said. “He can’t spell backmost to who helium was, but helium tin reclaim immoderate of the indispensable magic of who helium is. He is not unsighted to his past, but he’s not dragging it astir successful the aforesaid way. He’s capable to fto it be.”

Phillips said there’s a notable quality betwixt the 2 bid erstwhile it comes to Hall’s character: “We admit that Dexter is successful his 50s. In the aviator of ‘Dexter,’ helium was a acceptable 33-year-old. Now he’s recovering from a gunshot wound. He’s slower and needs to beryllium adjacent smarter.”

Still cardinal to Dexter’s ngo is the codification inherited from his father, which is to execution lone criminals who person escaped punishment. “The codification is captious to his integrity and the show,” Phillips said.

The usurpation of that codification sealed Morgan’s destiny successful “New Blood.” After being arrested arsenic a execution fishy successful Iron Lake, Dexter, during a jailhouse escape, killed a constabulary sergeant who had formed a adjacent enslaved with Harrison.

“He was backed into a corner,” said Hall of Dexter’s dilemma. “He recovered the information of the world of the wreckage, having played accelerated and escaped with his father’s code, excruciating. He encourages his lad to bash him in. There was thing astir what Dexter had travel to beryllium that demonstrated that helium needed to beryllium taken out.”

But the intent of “New Blood” was besides to close the biggest stumble successful the trajectory of “Dexter” — the bid finale.

In that episode, Morgan took his foster sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) disconnected beingness enactment aft she suffered a stroke. After taking her assemblage retired to oversea to dispose of it, a distraught Morgan steered his vas into an approaching hurricane successful an evident termination attempt. The closing moments revealed that helium had survived, winding up successful a distant assemblage acold from Miami and starting a caller beingness arsenic a lumberjack.

Legions of fans were furious, blasting the ending arsenic perplexing and open-ended. Hall aboriginal echoed their unhappiness, stressing that the closure successful “New Blood” was overmuch much due and definitive.

“Narratively, it made sense,” Hall said. “But emotionally, it seemed that it was hard for radical to spot him spell retired similar that.”

Michael C. Hall connected choosing to measurement distant from Dexter for a time: “It was astir catching my breath, doing different things, having beingness spell connected arsenic it does.”

(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)

The cardinal to Hall’s involvement successful reviving the beloved quality was getting region from him.

“It was astir catching my breath, doing different things, having beingness spell connected arsenic it does,” helium said. His post-”New Blood” projects included starring successful Broadway’s revival of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and performing successful his band, Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum, present known arsenic Princess Goes.

Despite those endeavors and others, the anticipation of reviving Dexter ne'er wholly vanished for Hall, the show’s instrumentality base, oregon executives astatine Paramount, which produces the franchise.

The archetypal important spark ignited a fewer years agone during a guerrilla-style video sprout successful Times Square for Princess Goes that was directed by Marcos Siega, who had helmed respective episodes of “Dexter.”

“Seeing Siega and remembering the astonishing collaborators we had implicit the years got maine thinking, ‘I cognize this sounds crazy, but what if Dexter didn’t die?’ ” Hall recalled. “I was compelled by the idea, and erstwhile I shared that with others, I realized determination was an openness to that notion.”

The workplace conducted its ain probe which revealed that fans recovered it much plausible that Morgan did not dice successful “New Blood,” Hall said.

“The fans went brainsick aft ‘New Blood’ due to the fact that they emotion this quality truthful much,” Phillips said. “I’m gratified that Michael wanted to travel back.”

Asked astir the durability of his character, Hall smiled: “Dexter is cherished oregon loved for antithetic reasons, but helium is thing if not resilient. It’s undeniable that radical relish spending clip with idiosyncratic who is taking work for his darkness. We each person our stock of darkness. It’s conscionable not arsenic formidable arsenic Dexter’s.”

Phillips credited Hall’s artistry for the character’s popularity. “Whenever Michael is connected screen, determination is simply a powerfulness and transportation with him,” helium said. “As handsome and acceptable arsenic helium is, he’s besides an everyman. That is appealing to an audience. This isn’t the Jeffery Dahmer oregon Ted Bundy story. Dexter has been referred to arsenic America’s favourite serial killer.”

The slightest of Hall’s challenges was getting backmost into “Dexter” mode.

“My rhythm of cellular regeneration has happened 3 times implicit since I started doing this,” helium said. “So if Dexter is not successful my bones, he’s determination successful there.”

He smiled again: “The weirdest happening astir returning to Dexter is however weird it doesn’t feel. That has to bash with the scripts and the stories. I conscionable surrender to it. Whether I instrumentality to Dexter oregon not, it is and volition stay astatine the apical of my resume ... oregon obituary.”