'Dexter' Revival: Jennifer Carpenter Might Have Teased Her Return

Dexter is coming back for a ninth season, and fans have been clamoring for word on if Jennifer Carpenter, who played Debra Morgan, would be involved. Michael C. Hall is set to return as Dexter Morgan, Debra's murderous adopted brother, but Carpenter was the second lead of the series. While it would take some concessions (for spoiler reasons we'll go into later) to reunite Debra with Dexter, fans want to see it. Now, fans have a ray of hope in the form of an Instagram post from the actress.

Carpenter, also known for her roles in White Chicks and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, shared a Dexter-related image just after Showtime spilled their plans to revive the show, which concluded in 2013. The 40-year-old actress shared a photo of Dexter fan Tyler Davison's tattooed arms covered with Dexter iconography, including Dexter and Debra's faces.

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I hope you saved a lil’ room for one more round @Tyler_Edward_Davison #Showtime #Dexter

A post shared by Jennifer Carpenter (@thejennwithin) on Oct 15, 2020 at 7:12am PDT

In the caption, she told Davison she hoped he "saved a lil' room" now that the show is getting "one more round." While this is not a clear indication that she's returning, the fact that she's openly talking about the show's return could be a sign that she's on board to return in some capacity. That's certainly a possibility in the cards, as showrunner Clyde Phillips opted not to comment on a possible Carpenter return during an interview on The Hollywood Reporter's podcast TV's Top 5. Spoilers for Dexter Season 8 ahead.

Elsewhere on the podcast, Phillips specifically commented on whether Dexter's original ending would be ignored. He assured fans that the ending, which involved Debra dying and Dexter escaping Miami and starting a new life, would still be canon. That decision means if Carpenter does return, it would likely be in the form of a hallucination or flashback.

"We're not undoing anything," Phillips said regarding Debra's death. "We're not going to betray the audience and say, 'Whoops, that was all a dream.' What happened in the first eight years happened in the first eight years."

Dexter's next season, which Showtime is billing as a limited series, will film in early 2021 with the intention of a fall 2021 release. Hall is the only confirmed returning cast member as of press time. Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.