John Cusack Reportedly Eyed For Big Bad In Dexter Revival

October brought some genuinely surprising news. Seven years after it wrapped up its original run, Showtime is reviving Dexter for a ninth season. Michael C. Hall is returning to portray the blood splatter analyst who’s secretly a serial killer, with Clyde Phillips likewise back on board as showrunner. Season 9 is being envisioned as a 10-episode limited series rather than a full-blown reboot, so hopes are high that it’ll end up as a strong final chapter for the story. And Showtime are clearly hoping to deliver a great big bad for the new run, too, as they’re setting their sights high when it comes to casting the villain.

The Illuminerdi has reported tonight that John Cusack is the top choice to play Dexter’s next nemesis. The outlet notes that The Shawshank Redemption star Tim Robbins was initially approached but he turned it down. It’s currently unclear if Cusack – who’s coming off Amazon’s Utopia, which was just cancelled after one season – is willing to take on the role, but what we do know is that the network wants him.

Whoever ends up playing the character, we also have a breakdown of what we can expect, as here’s how The Illuminerdi describes “Kurt”:

“Kurt was born in a Northeast American town, where our story seems to take place, and eventually became a trucker. After trucking for many years, he came to own the local truck stop in town, and established himself as a beloved leader in the community.

This handsome, commanding man, a true man of the people, “pulled himself up by the bootstraps and realized the American dream”. His son, Matthew has created many “messes” over the years, messes that are cleaned up by Kurt with wealth he has amassed throughout his lifetime.”

Given that this is Dexter, it’s not hard to imagine that those “messes” his son Matthew has created over the years are likely murders. With a potentially murderous son who he’ll protect at any cost, it’s easy to see how this small town, wealthy hero could pose a threat to Dexter.

Remember, season 8 ended with our favorite killer faking his death and embarking on a new life as a lumberjack. Though the series finale was widely panned, and has gone down as one of the worst TV endings of all time, season 9 isn’t going to outright retcon it away but, being set 10 years later, it will move the character along.

It’s also been reported that Dexter is due to go before cameras as soon as next month. With production kicking off this January, then, that could mean the show might be with us sometime later in 2021. Watch this space for more.