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)
TT

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.



Comic-Con Fans Assemble as Marvel Eyes Major Reboot 

Convention attendees blur past a wall of illustrated Marvel superhero characters during preview night for Comic-Con International, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in San Diego. (AP)
Convention attendees blur past a wall of illustrated Marvel superhero characters during preview night for Comic-Con International, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in San Diego. (AP)
TT

Comic-Con Fans Assemble as Marvel Eyes Major Reboot 

Convention attendees blur past a wall of illustrated Marvel superhero characters during preview night for Comic-Con International, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in San Diego. (AP)
Convention attendees blur past a wall of illustrated Marvel superhero characters during preview night for Comic-Con International, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in San Diego. (AP)

Comic-Con returns in full force to San Diego this week, where a hugely anticipated Marvel superhero film event is among the draws for tens of thousands of hyped-up fans dressed as fantasy heroes and sci-fi villains.

One of the world's largest pop culture events, Comic-Con began five decades ago as a humble comic book-themed gathering in a hotel basement, but today draws vast crowds and A-list stars promoting new movies and television shows.

Last year's edition was dampened by Hollywood strikes -- which prevented actors from attending, and quelled fan interest -- but Comic-Con is expected to draw 130,000 attendees back to the southern Californian city this time around.

The hottest ticket is the Saturday night Marvel movies presentation, at which parent company Disney is expected to unveil plans to reboot its mega-grossing superhero film franchise, after years of high-profile missteps.

The Marvel movies dominated Hollywood and global box offices for years, with 2019's "Avengers: Endgame" briefly becoming the highest-grossing film of all time at more than $2.79 billion.

But the past few years have brought more flops than hits, as fans complained about over-complicated plotlines and mourned the departure of favorite characters like Robert Downey Jr's "Iron Man."

And the franchise has been rocked by domestic violence revelations about actor Jonathan Majors, who had been set to become the major new supervillain across multiple films.

Majors, who was convicted for assaulting and harassing his then-girlfriend, has been dropped by Marvel, but there is no word on who -- or what -- will replace him.

Saturday's presentation is expected to reveal how Disney will move forward without him, and has been billed as a potential "make or break" moment by some observers.

It will take place inside the 6,000-capacity Hall H, where many camp in line for days to gain access.

"If the company wants to lure in anyone besides the dwindling ranks of... diehards, it needs to bring the answer to these questions to Hall H," wrote Susana Polo, for entertainment news outlet Polygon.

- Aliens, Deadpool and Ancient Rome -

Also on the Comic-Con lineup from Disney are a look at "Alien: Romulus," the latest in the long-running sci-fi saga, and a "celebration" event for this weekend's major superhero release, "Deadpool & Wolverine."

Rival studio Warner, which runs the DC superhero movies, is keeping a lower profile, but will offer a glimpse at its Batman spinoff TV series "The Penguin," starring Colin Farrell.

Elsewhere, "Those About To Die," a bloody romp through Ancient Rome and its macabre world of chariot races and gladiator fights, starring Anthony Hopkins, will host multiple fan events.

Amazon's Prime Video will lift the lid on the second season of its "Lord of the Rings" television series, which aims to improve on the mixed reviews for its hugely expensive debut season two years ago.

And following the success of recent video game adaptations for the small screen such as "Fallout" and "The Last of Us," Amazon will take viewers into the underworld of Japanese crime lords with "Yakuza: Like a Dragon," based on the hit games from Sega.

But for many, Comic-Con is primarily a place to dress up as Disney characters or fearsome samurai warriors, and meet with like-minded fans to buy and trade comic books.

Comic-Con runs from Thursday until Sunday.