‘Dexter’ Season 9: How John Lithgow’s Trinity Could Return

It was recently announced that Dexter Season 9 would feature John Lithgow‘s return as the Trinity Killer, and many fans are wondering how it might happen. Lithgow played Arthur Mitchell, aka The Trinity Killer, the primary antagonist in Season 4 of Dexter. Now, he’ll be reprising the role in Showtime’s Dexter revival, but exactly how may be tricky. Spoilers for Dexter Season 4 ahead.

Before we get into how The Trinity Killer could come back, let’s go over some backstory. In the fourth season of Dexter, viewers were introduced to Miller, as a seemingly normal husband and father of two who held a dark secret inside. Miller was the serial killer dubbed The Trinity Killer, due to his ritual consisting of three very specific deaths each time he killed. Miller was initially profiled by FBI Agent Lundy (Keith Carradine), who was eventually killed attempting to apprehend him.

Dexter (played by Michael C. Hall) grew close to Miller, as he saw the aging family man’s life as a possible future for himself. However, things took a brutal turn, ending in Dexter killing Miller but later discovering that Miller had already killed his wife, Rita. Lithgow would go on to win both an Emmy and Golden Globe for his performance as Arthur Miller.

The prospect of Miller returning is deeply fascinating, but it raises a lot of questions. Mainly, how? Well, the most plausible possibility seems to be: through flashbacks. What fans might get is a visual memory of Dexter’s, recalling his days in the presence of the sinister Trinity Killer.

The second most likely scenario would probably be a hallucination. Maybe Dexter will picture Arthur in a fever dream, or something to that effect. However it happens, seeing Dexter and Arthur in a brooding showdown would be a very compelling moment for the series.

In addition to Lithgow, we also know that Jennifer Carpenter’s Deb Morgan, Dexter’s sister, will reportedly appear in the series. The Dexter revival will pick up about a decade after the original series finale, which aired in 2013. Dexter is now going by a new name and living in the fictional small town of Iron Lake, which is located in Upstate New York.

New cast members this time around include Clancy Brown (Billions) as Dexter’s primary rival Kurt Caldwell, the unofficial mayor of Iron Lake. Jamie Chung (Lovecraft Country), Julia Jones (Goliath), and Alano Miller (Jane the Virgin) will also star. Aside from Carpenter and Lithgow, it does not appear that any other former Dexter stars will be returning for the revival, as claimed by ex-Dexter actor James Remar. The new season of Dexter does not currently have an announced premiere date but is expected to debut on Showtime this year.