Angel Batista died in the Dexter finale, then turned up filming in Times Square

If there’s one thing Dexter loves, it’s refusing to stay dead – both the show and its main character. In fact, after playing fast and loose with mortal wounds in New Blood, the franchise is doubling down with Dexter: Resurrection, dragging up some very familiar faces from the (alleged) grave and throwing even more ghosts into Dexter Morgan’s already-crowded psyche.

Dexter: Resurrection shot its Times Square reunion scenes with Michael C. Hall and David Zayas back in June 2026.

Last Season’s Shocks (and Maybe Not-So-Shocks)

Season 1 of Resurrection saw Dexter (played, of course, by Michael C. Hall) making the most of his miraculous survival by getting back to what he does best: bumping off new monsters, racking up a solid body count, and making a complete hash of any chance at proper paternal redemption. Just when you thought he might be on a path to fixing things with his son, the past showed up — in the decidedly fatal form of Angel Batista (David Zayas).

The finale didn’t pull any punches: Batista meets a violent end at Dexter’s hands, pushing Dexter into yet another guilt spiral. Only, not so fast. Over the last week, both Hall and Zayas were seen filming in the blinding neons of Times Square, sending the fandom into speculation overdrive. Is Batista alive, or will he be joining Dexter’s personal gallery of internal phantoms as another dark passenger? The show's already pulled the resurrection trick with Dexter himself, so anything’s on the table. But if they do pull Batista out of the afterlife just to keep things ticking along, it would rather cheapen his ‘deathbed’ ending last season — and honestly, does Dexter need any more ghosts in his head?

The Ghosts Piling Up

Rumours over Zayas’ return started back in May, after eagle-eyed fans clocked him on director Marcos Siega’s Instagram. Even Hall has publicly hinted that Batista’s death isn’t just a footnote; expect the fallout to haunt Dexter (literally or otherwise) next year. Here’s what Hall told Gold Derby when asked:

‘I think it's reasonable to expect that Angel will still reside in Dexter's mind and heart. And yeah, we might explore that.’

Batista’s not the only ex-corpse to stalk the new season, either. Krysten Ritter returns as Mia LaPierre – aka Lady Vengeance – despite her apparently departing this mortal coil last year. Meanwhile, with Al Walker, the Rapunzel Killer (Eric Stonestreet), escaping Dexter’s clutches in the finale, the loose ends in Miami just keep on stacking up.

Oh, and let’s not forget Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington), who is meant to be sniffing around Batista’s suspicious death next. Quinn has always had suspicions about Dexter’s weirdly impeccable crime scene timing, so expect him to go fully rogue this time, complicating matters even more.

The New Targets

Season 2 isn’t just about the ghosts. There’s a fresh crop of creeps for Dexter to dispatch — somewhat ambitiously juggled by the show, if you ask me. Here’s the line-up:

• Brian Cox as the New York Ripper
• Dan Stevens as the Five Borough Killer
• Gabriel Luna as Ray Ballard, aka The Sleepy-Eyed Stranger

All three were teased in that very eventful Season 1 finale. Whether or not Dexter’s true-iconic adversaries pop back up — I’m talking John Lithgow as Trinity Killer, Jimmy Smits as Miguel Prado, and Christian Camargo as Brian Moser — that’s still up in the air, but don’t be shocked if the writers find some excuse.

Meanwhile, Harry (James Remar) is still doing his parental-ghost thing, so at least Dexter isn’t totally alone as he spirals through yet another round of bloody soul-searching.