Michael C. Hall’s Dexter Morgan faced off against some pretty memorable villains during the course of the original series, but perhaps none are more fondly remembered than John Lithgow‘s Arthur Mitchell, a.k.a. The Trinity Killer. He’s so revered that not only is he getting his own prequel series in the same vein as Dexter: Original Sin, but he’s also set to return in Dexter: Resurrection, the sequel show that picks things up from where New Blood left off in 2021. However, with Trinity meeting his demise at the end of Dexter Season 4, don’t expect him to stick around too long.
Appearing on an episode of Variety’s Know their Lines, Lithgow – who was recently cast as Albus Dumbledore in HBO’s reboot of Harry Potter – touched on his upcoming appearance in Dexter: Resurrection, and just how his character of The Trinity Killer fits into the sequel. Like those close to Dexter before him who passed away, Lithgow mentioned that he’d only be returning in a non-corporeal form.
They’re rebooting the entire Michael C. Hall version of Dexter. And it turns out he didn’t die after all. I come back sort of as a phantom, as he gradually comes to life on a hospital bed.
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That tracks with how Dexter: Original Sin began when it premiered last December. Fans will recall that the series opened with Dexter being rushed to the hospital after his son, Harrison, put a bullet in his chest. While the ending to New Blood made it seem like our favorite vigilante serial killer had finally met his end, that wasn’t the case at all. Dexter is currently alive and lying in a hospital bed somewhere, which is presumably how Resurrection will start when it debuts later this summer, with an appearance by Lithgow’s Trinity Killer to help kick things off.
John Lithgow Explains the “Blandness” of The Trinity Killer
Anyone who’s a fan of true crime will recognize that The Trinity Killer in Dexter is based on any number of serial killers from the past that, on the surface, appeared to be normal, law-abiding citizens that went about their day-to-day life while hiding a dark secret. A dark passenger, if you will. Dennis Rader is perhaps the most famous of the bunch, as he was able to maintain a family for decades all while leading a double life as the BTK Killer.
It was that idea that served Lithgow well when he took on the role of Arthur Mitchell, whom he says the writers of Dexter based on not only Rader, but other, seemingly bland men with a thirst for blood. “The writers had created this character very much based on various, very plain and ordinary and innocuous men who had this horrifying other side to them,” he told Variety, adding:
“TV Guide wrote a review of Dexter. It was very complimentary to me, but it did call me a ‘bland blob of a man.’ I chose to take that as a compliment. That was what I was after. I was just as boring as could be.”
Mission accomplished by Lithgow, as up until we find out that he is, indeed, The Trinity Killer, he plays the part of an “everyman” to perfection until the mask slips away and reveals him to be so much more. You can relive all past seasons of Dexter right now on Paramount+ with Showtime, and look for Dexter: Resurrection to premiere later this summer.
Source: Variety/YouTube
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
