Dexter star explains how killed-off character is returning for revival series

Actor will portray a ‘new and imaginary’ version of the character

Dexter star Jennifer Carpenter has addressed her character’s return in the forthcoming revival series New Blood.

Carpenter played Dexter’s sister, Debra Morgan, in the original serial killer drama, though her character was killed off near the end of the eighth and final season.

However, it was recently reported that Carpenter would be returning for the new sequel series alongside Michael C Hall (as Dexter) and John Lithgow (as The Trinity Killer).

While Lithgow will feature only as a guest star, Carpenter has reportedly been signed on as a series regular, leading some to question how her deceased character will feature.

Speaking to press during a Q&A at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, Carpenter revealed she will be play a “new and imaginary” version of Debra.

Per Digital Spy, the actor said: “I don’t think of her as a ghost, more of a link or an echo or an inconvenient truth for Dexter.

“[She] comes back to sort of haunt and punish and caretake and provoke and love [him].”

Hall also chimed in, explaining: “As much as [Deb] is an internalised character for Dexter, I think [she] represents how far he’s fallen… without a compass. I was so excited about Jennifer doing this because I knew she would be able to shape shift and come at Dexter from so many different places.”

Dexter: New Blood will premiere on 7 November on Showtime in the US, and will air on Sky Atlantic in the UK this autumn.