John Lithgow is returning to Dexter for Showtime's upcoming series revival for what is said to be a "short but decisive appearance." Last year, it was officially announced that a new Dexter series was in the works with Michael C. Hall reprising his role as the titular serial killing vigilante. Clyde Phillips is also set to return as the showrunner for the 10-episode limited series. Various teasers for its release have since been released.

In the fourth season of the original show's run, John Lithgow played the acclaimed role of Arthur Mitchell, aka the Trinity Killer. Along with a Golden Globe, his performance won Lithgow the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama. The character was killed off by the end of the season, though he remains one of television history's most memorable villains.

As the Trinity Killer is dead in Dexter canon, it's currently unclear how Lithgow will be worked into the revival. Per Deadline, the creative team has "concocted a pathway for the Trinity Killer to come back that works within the larger Dexter narrative." Because Lithgow is only expected to film for a day or so, it's also expected that his appearance in the series will be very brief. One easy explanation for the cameo is that it's for a dream or flashback sequence, but this hasn't been confirmed.

Winning for his portrayal as the Trinity Killer on Dexter was the fifth Emmy win for Lithgow. He had previously won the same award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 1986 for Amazing Stories. Switching gears and tackling comedy head-on with the 1990s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, Lithgow picked up another three wins for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He has since won a sixth Emmy for his role as Sir Winston Churchill in The Crown on Netflix.

Back in January, it was reported that Clancy Brown had also joined Michael C. Hall in the Dexter cast as an antagonist. It was later announced that David Magidoff, Jamie Chung, and Oscar Wahlberg would appear in the series. Someone who apparently won't be back is James Remar, who played Dexter's father in the original show. In May, Remar revealed via Dexter Daily that he hadn't been invited.

"I will not be back as Harry Morgan on Dexter Season 9," James Remar said. "Thank you for saying that Harry is one of the best characters you've seen on a TV show. It's one of the best characters I've ever had the chance to play. Especially season 1. They didn't ask any of the original cast back, so I don't know what they're doing... I really have no idea. It's too bad because all of us wanted to go back. But, you know, it's their show, so they're gonna do what they wanna do."

Dexter is slated to premiere on Showtime in late 2021, but an official date hasn't yet been announced. Because multiple teasers have been released, we can't be too far away from a lengthier trailer that shows us more of Michael C. Hall's return as the iconic television antihero. This news comes to us from Deadline.

https://deadline.com/2021/06/john-lithgow-returns-dexter-revival-showtime-1234782714/