New ‘Dexter’ Sequel Starring Michael C. Hall Announced at Comic-Con 

Molly Brown, from left, Patrick Gibson, and Michael C. Hall attend a panel for "Dexter: Original Sin" during Comic-Con International on Friday, July 26, 2024, in San Diego. (AP)
Molly Brown, from left, Patrick Gibson, and Michael C. Hall attend a panel for "Dexter: Original Sin" during Comic-Con International on Friday, July 26, 2024, in San Diego. (AP)
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New ‘Dexter’ Sequel Starring Michael C. Hall Announced at Comic-Con 

Molly Brown, from left, Patrick Gibson, and Michael C. Hall attend a panel for "Dexter: Original Sin" during Comic-Con International on Friday, July 26, 2024, in San Diego. (AP)
Molly Brown, from left, Patrick Gibson, and Michael C. Hall attend a panel for "Dexter: Original Sin" during Comic-Con International on Friday, July 26, 2024, in San Diego. (AP)

The “Dexter” universe is expanding, with everyone’s favorite serial killer coming back from the dead.

At San Diego Comic-Con, the “Dexter” team, led by showrunner Clyde Phillips, announced that audiences would see more of the character in “Dexter: Resurrection,” a new sequel series from Showtime. It will pick up where fellow franchise sequel “Dexter: New Blood” left off with its main character dead, prompting many fans to believe any future sequels would be impossible.

Michael C. Hall, who started playing the titular character in 2006, will reprise his role. He made a surprise appearance at the Comic-Con panel, shocking fans even before they heard the news of the new series. Phillips didn’t disclose too many details, but somehow, the “Resurrection” will revive its lead.

The announcement came during the promotion of “Dexter: Original Sin,” a prequel series that explores the character as a younger man, played by Patrick Gibson.

“This weekend there were a lot of surprises,” Gibson said in an interview with The Associated Press. “They set up the characters in season one to have such rich inner life and so much complexity that even with eight seasons, there’s so much more to explore.”

At the panel, the creatives behind the franchise also announced that Hall is the narrator of the “Original Sin” series, where he will divulge the inner thoughts of young Dexter. The prequel series is set to release in December 2024 and “Dexter: Resurrection” will start filming in January for a summer 2025 release.

Fans at the packed venue Friday exploded with cheers when the panel made the surprise announcement.

“Original Sin” also stars Christian Slater, who said he was “obsessed” with the original series and was looking forward to exploring more of the story that the previous series didn’t get to examine.

“To see Dexter becoming Dexter — it’s really cool to see how Clyde Phillips has handled that and the writing is just so good and so rich, it’s fun to do,” Slater told The Associated Press.

“Dexter” premiered in 2006 and ran for eight seasons, earning Hall five drama actor Emmy nominations. It quickly became one of Showtime’s most successful series and gained a cult-like following.



‘Superman’ Aims to Save Flagging Film Franchise, Not Just Humanity

 David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
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‘Superman’ Aims to Save Flagging Film Franchise, Not Just Humanity

 David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
David Corenswet, left, and Rachel Brosnahan participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)

Superman is often called upon to save the world from evildoers, but in his latest big-screen incarnation, he's also being asked to swoop in and save a franchise.

James Gunn's "Superman," which opened in theaters worldwide this week, is a reboot aimed at relaunching the so-called DC Universe of comic book-based superhero movies, which also features Wonder Woman and Batman.

The celluloid efforts of Warner Bros. and DC Studios have been widely eclipsed by Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe -- the world of Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four, who are getting their own reboot later this month.

"Warner Bros. has invested a lot of energy and money in trying to refocus and renew DC Studios, and this is going to be the big release from that," analyst David A. Gross from Franchise Entertainment Research told AFP.

The heavy task falls on the shoulders of Gunn, the writer-director who won praise from fans of the genre with Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy.

The movie's rollout has already encountered several headwinds, including a right-wing backlash to Gunn's comments on Superman's role as an immigrant, and skepticism from fans of the previous Superman films helmed by director Zack Snyder.

Gunn has shrugged off the high stakes surrounding the movie's box office success.

"Is there something riding on it? Yeah, but it's not as big as people make it out to be," he told GQ Magazine.

"They hear these numbers that the movie's only going to be successful if it makes $700 million or something and it's just complete and utter nonsense."

The hype around the movie is real -- the White House even superimposed President Donald Trump onto one of the movie's official posters with the caption "THE SYMBOL OF HOPE. TRUTH. JUSTICE. THE AMERICAN WAY. SUPERMAN TRUMP."

- 'A diminished genre' -

Warner Bros. hopes the DC Universe can catch up with Marvel which -- after years of huge successes with the "Avengers" movies -- has seen more muted box office returns with the recent "Thunderbolts" and "Captain America: Brave New World."

Gross explained that superhero films hit a peak right before the Covid-19 pandemic, with box office earnings and audience enthusiasm waning ever since that time.

"It's really a diminished genre," Gross said.

However, the analyst said early buzz for "Superman" was "really good."

The film stars up-and-comer David Corenswet as the new Superman/Clark Kent, with "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" star Rachel Brosnahan playing love interest Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as arch-villain Lex Luthor.

The story follows the Man of Steel coming to terms with his alien identity as he finds his place in the human world.

The supporting cast boasts a selection of other DC Comics characters, from the peacekeeping Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) -- who is scheduled to reprise the role in upcoming TV series "Lanterns" -- to the mace-wielding Hawkgirl.

Gross noted that July "is the top moviegoing month of the year," leading tracking estimates to forecast a total of more than $100 million for the film's opening weekend in North America.

- 'The story of America' -

DC Studios however must shake off a reputation for producing mediocre films that did not score well with audiences.

The last round of "DC Extended Universe" films included the well-liked "Wonder Woman" (2017) starring Gal Gadot -- but also box office flops like "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" (2023) and the under-performing "Aquaman" sequel with Jason Momoa.

"The success was mixed, and they were spending a lot of money on some of the new spinoff characters who were not working particularly well," Gross said, pointing at 2021's "The Suicide Squad" -- directed by Gunn -- as an example.

The last films featuring Superman, starring Henry Cavill and directed by Snyder, were relatively successful for Warner Bros. until "Justice League" -- DC's effort at recreating the "Avengers" vibe -- which lost millions of dollars.

Fans of Snyder have stirred up negative buzz for the new "Superman" movie, voicing hope online that the reboot fails out of a sense of loyalty to the previous films.

The backlash was further widened after right-wing pundits groaned about Superman's specific characterization as an immigrant, lamenting the superhero had become "woke."

Gunn addressed the criticism, telling The Times newspaper that "Superman is the story of America," with the character reflecting those who "came from other places and populated the country."

"I'm telling a story about a guy who is uniquely good, and that feels needed now," he added.

Ultimately, time will soon tell if Corenswet's chiseled looks and Gunn's directorial vision will be the superpowers that DC Studios need -- or prove to be its Kryptonite.