All 6 Dexter Characters Confirmed To Return In Dexter: Original Sin

Several key characters from Dexter are set to return in the highly anticipated prequel series Dexter: Original Sin. After Michael C. Hall reprised his iconic role as the charismatic vigilante serial killer Dexter Morgan in 2021’s Dexter: New Blood, Dexter: Original Sin went into development in February 2023. While it’s unclear whether Hall will appear onscreen in the Dexter prequel series, which is set in 1991, fifteen years before the events of Dexter season 1 take place, he is attached as an executive producer along with New Blood creator and Original Sin showrunner Clyde Phillips.

Dexter: Original Sin will feature a new actor as the legendary titular character for the first time in the franchise’s celebrated history. The Dexter prequel series has also recast Debra and Harry Morgan, two of the most significant characters and family members of Dexter. The series will chronicle a post-college Dexter as he embraces his “dark passenger” through the guidance and teachings of his adopted father Harry, who has developed a code for Dexter to follow to satisfy his violent urges while making sure never to get caught. Dexter featured a variety of flashbacks of Dexter’s upbringing with Harry and the formation of the code, which the prequel will expand further on.

The upcoming Dexter prequel series will also chronicle the beginning of Dexter Morgan’s forensics career at the Miami Metro Police Department, which will bring back the original characters of Angel Batista, Maria LaGuerta, and Vince Masuka. Both of the original actors for Angel Batista and Debra Morgan appeared in Dexter: New Blood but will be recast in Original Sin. It’s unclear whether another recurring Dexter character Joey Quinn will be involved in the prequel series but it’s unlikely since he joined the cast in season 3. A new character played by Reno Wilson will appear in Original Sin as Harry Morgan’s best friend Bobby Watt.

6 Dexter Morgan

Patrick Gibson

Dexter Morgan was the titular protagonist in the celebrated original series and has only been played onscreen before by Michael C. Hall, with the exception of various younger actors for flashback scenes. Although Dexter is not based on a real-life serial killer, Dexter shares many of the classic personality traits with the infamous Ted Bundy. He’s attractive, confident, and therefore unassuming, which acts as his perfect disguise to cancel his “dark passenger”. Dexter, however, also discovers throughout the course of the original series that he is capable of love, especially through his relationships with his sister Debra, his wife Rita, and his son Harrison.

Patrick Gibson will become just the second actor ever to appear in a leading role as the notorious Dexter Morgan. Gibson is a 29-year-old actor from Ireland who is best known for starring as Steve Winchell in the popular Netflix sci-fi fantasy series The OA. He is also recognized for his role as Nikolai Lantsov in another Netflix fantasy series, Shadow and Bone. Gibson made his television debut in 2009 in three episodes of the historical drama series The Tudors. He has also starred in several feature films such as the 2019 docudrama Tolkien alongside Nicholas Hoult.

5 Debra Morgan

Molly Brown

Dexter: Original Sin will see the return of Dexter’s adopted sister Debra who also has a storied career at the Miami Metro Police Department. In the original series, Debra was introduced to working as an undercover sex worker and eventually worked her way up to more authoritative roles within the homicide department as the series expanded. Debra was played by Jennifer Carpenter, who was once the real-life wife of Michael C. Hall before the two split up in 2011. Debra is known for being a straight shooter with a tendency to use vulgar language. Her aggressive and hilarious style made her one of the staples of the original series.

A younger version of Debra will be played by Molly Brown in the upcoming Dexter prequel series. Brown made her first television appearance in a 2016 episode of ABC’s legal drama Conviction before appearing in a number of notable series in 2018, such as High Maintenance, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Brown recently appeared as Elizabeth Prince on the celebrated Showtime series Billions and starred as Leslie in the notable Paramount+ original series Evil.

4 Harry Morgan

Christian Slater

Although Harry Morgan wasn’t actually alive during the time period in which the original series was set, he was a hugely influential character on Dexter and appeared as a physical manifestation of Dexter’s mind throughout the series. Harry also appears in flashbacks of Dexter’s memories as he begins to instruct Dexter on his “code”. Harry, a former police officer, always did everything he could to protect Dexter despite his “dark passenger.” Ultimately, Harry Morgan overdosed on his heart medication when Dexter was 20 after he caught Dexter dismembering a human body in what was believed to have been a death by suicide.

In what is arguably the most exciting casting news to come out of the Dexter prequel series, Christian Slater will take the reins of Harry Morgan from James Remar in Dexter: Original Sin. Not only does Slater have the natural look of Harry, but his role as Elliot’s confidant in the celebrated series Mr. Robot is a great indication of how he will approach the role. Slater, 54, has starred in many classic films and television series such as True Romance (1993), Archer (2009-2023), Heathers (1988), and Interview with the Vampire (1994).

3 James Martinez

Angel Batista

A younger version of Angel Batista will appear in Dexter: Original Sin. Angel was one of the key characters in the original series who worked as a detective sergeant at the Miami Metro Police Department. The original Angel character was portrayed by David Zayas, whose other credits include Michael Clayton (2007), The Expendables (2010), and The Blacklist (2013-2023). Zayas recently reprised his role as Angel Batista in Dexter: New Blood but will likely not appear in the upcoming prequel series due to the shift in time period. Angel eventually gets promoted to lieutenant in the original series.

Actor James Martinez will take on the role of Angel in his younger years at the Miami Metro Police Department​​​. Like Brown, Martinez was also featured in Billions, and he also played Juan in the celebrated series The Deuce with James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Martinez is likely best known for his recurring role as Armando Salazar in the Hulu/Disney original series Love, Victor (2020-2022). He also recently starred in the 2023 Paramount+ series Wolf Pack, had a recurring role in House of Cards season 5, and even appeared in an episode of Breaking Bad in 2011.

2 Maria LaGuerta

Christina Milian

Long-running Dexter character Maria LaGuerta is also set to return in Dexter: Original Sin. LaGuerta always held a high-ranking position at the Miami Metro Police Department in the original series, starting as a captain before getting promoted to lieutenant, taking the lead on many of the criminal investigations that took place throughout Dexter’s eight seasons. She had historically butt heads with Debra quite often in the original series and eventually becomes suspicious of Dexter in later seasons. LaGuerta is a force to be reckoned with whose no-nonsense approach to her job makes her a clear leader at Miami Metro.

Christina Milian will take over the role of Maria LaGuerta from Luna Lauren Velez in Dexter: Original Sin. Milian is a notable pop singer and songwriter whose music career rose to prominence during the 2000s. She has appeared in several classic television series such as Sister, Sister (1996), Smart Guy (1999), Charmed (1999), and The Wild Thornberrys (1999). She sang the classic Kim Possible theme song “Call Me, Beep Me” and had several notable singles, including “Dip It Low” and “Gonna Tell Everybody.” She has recently appeared in several episodes of Family Guy and the Starz original series Step Up: High Water.

1 Vince Masuka

Alex Shimizu

Vince Masuka is the lead forensic specialist for the Miami Metro Police Department in the original series. Masuka often worked alongside Dexter on cases and was known for his playfully vulgar and inappropriate sense of humor. Masuka was originally played by C.S. Lee, who has recently starred as Lee Jung-Gil in the celebrated Apple+ original series For All Mankind. Since Dexter concluded in 2013, Lee has appeared in a wide variety of television series, including Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds, True Detective season 2, The League, Power, Sneaky Pete, Silicon Valley, Snowfall, and The Rookie.

A younger Vince Masuka will be portrayed by actor Alex Shimizu in the Dexter prequel series. Shimizu is best known for his roles as Tadashi Ito in The Blacklist and Toshiro Furuya in The Terror. Shimizu rose to prominence in the 2013 series Alien Down before appearing in Person of Interest (2014) and one episode of Community in 2015. Shimizu also appeared in one episode of S.W.A.T. in 2019 and is expected to appear in the upcoming series Interior Chinatown alongside Jimmy O. Yang. It will be interesting to see whether Dexter: Original Sin will capture the zany sense of humor and personality of Masuka that made him a fan-favorite character in the original series.

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Dexter: Every Character Who Knew About His Dark Passenger (& How They Found Out)

While Dexter’s number one rule was to not get caught, he slipped up quite a few times, leading several characters to discover his killer identity.

Dexter

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. 

Cast

David Zayas , Michael C. Hall , Lauren Velez , C. S. Lee , James Remar , Jennifer Carpenter , Desmond Harrington , Julie Benz

Release Date

October 31, 2010

Seasons

8

Writers

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

Directors

Clyde Phillips

Showrunner

Clyde Phillips

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