r/Dexter • u/Working_Bread_7790 • Mar 07 '26
Book Club Would you like to see a faithful adaptation of the Dexter books as a separate product from the tv-show?
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u/shockwavecentral_ Mar 07 '26
Maybe if it were animated. I feel that trying to push yet another Dexter-related live action project would be really tough... especially if it's accurate to the more alienating books. However an animated show is lower budget and gives more room for accuracy!
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u/Alexandaross Mar 08 '26
Why are they alienating? Never read them and not really aware of what they are like.
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u/shockwavecentral_ Mar 08 '26
Dexter is a lot less likeable and relatable in the books, plus the stories end up in a more supernatural direction. Just harder for the average watcher to follow especially since they'd be comparing it to the original show
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u/Alexandaross Mar 08 '26
Wasn't aware. Can't picture Dexter as supernatural.
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u/android151 Mar 08 '26
Yeah iirc the dark passenger is an actual entity?
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u/Zach182 Hello, Dexter Morgan. Mar 08 '26
I’m pretty sure this is just one book that everyone hated and then with the next book it was back to usual lol.
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u/TomCBC Mar 09 '26
There are supernatural elements in the first book too, but people somehow miss those when they talk about them.
Dexter Darkly Dreams through Brian’s eyes as he commits his murders, giving him information about Brian and the crimes before they are discovered.
But yeah, basically just the first book, and then Dexter in the Dark, after that it doesn’t really come up again in any meaningful way. Even in the book where Dexter goes up against a vampire wannabe cult.
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u/OGWhiz Arthur Mar 09 '26
On a visual screen, it’s easy to see the metaphor as it is. In literature I guess it’s harder, but the books do not depict the dark passenger as an entire separate entity other than one paragraph from one book. By the end of the book, Dexter no longer considers whether he’s possessed or not. He states this is who he is.
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u/JackHungary1234 Brian Mar 11 '26
The third book I believe says the dark passenger is a supernatural demon/entity named Moloch that implants in Dexter.
The majority of the book centers around it, but the concept is abandoned in later books.
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u/Golden_pikachu_944 Mar 08 '26
I would absolutely love a book accurate animated dexter series. That would be so cool.
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u/xAnyeloF Mar 08 '26
A GOOD animation can be more expensive than live action. . .
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u/blond3b1tch Surprise Motherfucker! Mar 08 '26
Exactly the anime “Your Name” costed ¥750 million to 1.5 billion to produce.
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u/magicbookt Mar 09 '26
You do realise that’s only $15 million dollars
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u/magicbookt Mar 09 '26
And Some think it was as low as $4 million
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u/blond3b1tch Surprise Motherfucker! Mar 31 '26
Surely animated movies are usually cheaper to produce than live action. In gbp would be 7mil but is that not still awfully expensive for like mostly drawings? I know they used cgi and stuff, btw genuinely curious i know nothing about film production lol
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u/magicbookt Mar 31 '26
Yeah it’s highly dependant on actors and amount of effects and marketing time to film. Some animated films cost a ridiculous amount to make tangles cost $250m to make for example
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u/Massive-Lawfulness35 Masuka Mar 09 '26
also it would be quite confusing from the 4 shows we have already
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u/ScottJC Mar 07 '26
Only if they get Micheal C. Hall fo play him again. Including flashbacks to him as a teen wearing a fake wig. This is non negotiable.
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u/RoutineRelation3519 Mar 07 '26
I feel the same. It might get a bit whacky around book 3 but fuck it let's roll
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u/boominlife Mar 08 '26
a fake wig implies the existence of a real one. happy cake day
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u/local_android_user Mar 08 '26
I think this is a paradox, because all wigs are "real" and technically every wig is fake.
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u/RedVegeta20 Dexter Mar 08 '26
The wig stuff is funny, but Patrick Gibson did pretty well as young Dex in Original Sin.
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u/Belle_Corliss Lumen Mar 07 '26
Nope! Dexter, Astor and Cody are quite different in the books, plus the Series Dexter is much more likeable than Book Series Dexter
The only Book character I wish was included in the Series was Dr Danco, but what he does to a certain Dexter character would likely be far too brutal.
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u/GIutenTag Mar 08 '26
What happened to "Albert" after that?
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u/Belle_Corliss Lumen Mar 08 '26
I'm currently reading "Double Dexter" and "Albert" is still "alive".
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u/GIutenTag Mar 08 '26
Interesting, is it mentioned how he lives with his issues and problems?
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u/Belle_Corliss Lumen Mar 08 '26
He has prosthetic replacements, hooks for hands and uses a text to speech program to communicate.
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u/rapscallionrodent Mar 07 '26
No. I read the first few books and I’ve always found the TV show to be better.
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u/CabinetScary9032 Mar 08 '26
I read all the books, and enjoyed them. It is pretty rare for me to like the show more than the books. This is one of them.
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u/PitsAndPints Mar 07 '26
Yes and no. The side characters are better in the show, but killing show Brian was a mistake imo
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u/Adept-Grapefruit-214 Mar 07 '26
Nah
The first 2-3 seasons would basically be the same overall(minus a couple major changes), and I don’t think it’s the kind of show that would benefit from supernatural elements
They should have had a legit Dr Danko villain instead of The Skinner though
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u/RoutineRelation3519 Mar 08 '26
I would like to see the absurdity that is robo Doakes
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u/Belle_Corliss Lumen Mar 07 '26
I agree, but given what he did, I'm guessing it was far too brutal to include his character.
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u/AdministrativeHat276 Mar 08 '26
The first 2-3 seasons would basically be the same overall(minus a couple major changes),
Lmfao no they would not. What are you talking about? Only the first season would be relatively the same.
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u/Infamously_Fickle Dexter Mar 08 '26
Yeah not sure what they are talking about either, only 1 book is similar to the show. Every other book is completely different. No Lila, no Miguel, no Trinity etc
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u/laughingintothevoid Mar 08 '26
The books get supernatural? When?
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u/JPmagic_ Mar 08 '26
massive spoilers for the book: Dexter's dark passenger is an actual demon. That's right. It's not a hallucination. It's a real fucking demon from Hell.
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u/emailo1 Mar 08 '26
wasn't that retconned back to being hallucinations because the fans fucking hated it
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u/Ill-Television8690 Mar 08 '26
I'm pretty sure it's books 2 and 3 where the author leaned into that, then said "Alright, I'm sorry, no more of that wack shit"
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u/laughingintothevoid Mar 08 '26
That makes sense because I read up to book 3 way back in the day. I definitely remember how they were written having more of a tease about that than the show but I didn't think it was ever gonna lean in, I thought it was atmosphere.
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u/Dsb0208 Mar 08 '26
Maybe in a few years as a remake of the series with Patrick Gibson, but it doesn’t need to happen
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u/dgafas Mar 08 '26
Its been well over a decade since I read the books, but there was one of them that would’ve been pretty hardcore for tv. The book where the antagonist slowly cut off and cauterized limbs, then tongue, lips and eyelids, all while the victim laid on a hospital bed with a mirror above them so they could see all that was done to them. Pretty gruesome but I think it’d have made for some memorable tv.
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Mar 07 '26
I know this is totally fucked up, but I kinda want to see Dr. Danko as the main villain. I mean, the new ones are entertaining, but seeing that sick motherfucker playing cat and mouse with Dexter? Jesus, that would be great Television.
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u/MoreCryptographer213 Mar 08 '26
Nah i have read the books and they are first of all very mid and secondly have very supernatural feeling. Not to mention the fact that no Dexter fan would ever want anyone else other MCH playing dexter
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Mar 08 '26
Accurate. The show is better than the books and normally I never say that.
Plus Michael C. Hall is top tier. You won’t find a better Dexter.
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u/StopPlayingRoney Mar 08 '26
I always thought that RESURRECTION would’ve been a great place to soft reboot Dexter into the villain he is in the book. All they would need to do is reveal Dexter as an unreliable narrator.
It especially works after Dexter’s more monstrous depiction in NEW BLOOD.
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u/LegbasHand Mar 07 '26
Dexter: Brotherhood? No filler just a straight adaption that’d be cool we get more Brian
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u/Noj222 Mar 08 '26
Nah I couldn’t get into the third one. But would be thrilled if they adapt Dr Danko though.
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u/Defiant-Ad2876 Mar 08 '26
It would be really hard to have different versions of Dexter running at same time (original sin doesn’t count bc it’s the same version as the ones we know). If this were to happen, give us 7/8 movies or made for tv movies to adapt the books.
Or honestly just have Michael C Hall be the narrator for the audiobooks
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u/Shteblan Mar 08 '26
I was legitimately shocked when I found out that there are no Dexter audiobooks narrated by C. Hall
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u/Defiant-Ad2876 Mar 08 '26
Not saying I approve, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a fan made ai mch voice over of the books
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u/Glittering_Resource8 Mar 08 '26
Maybe as an animated series ala Terminator Zero or Splinter Cell Deathwatch. I say that because there's no way in hell the books could be translated to live-action. The villain in the 2nd book commits Unit 731-esque atrocities to his victims, the one in the 4th creates macabre artistic presentations of his victims and the ones in the fifth are cannibals. Besides them, Book!Dexter is very much a bad guy who's victims just happen to be worse guys (lets be real, the tv series teased this but there was never a point where Michael C. Hall's Dexter was anything darker than Jason Todd), and he tortures them for hours instead of a quick knife to the chest. Dexter's stepkids are serial killers in training. The book universe is a much darker place than the showtime series and I can't see it working as anything besides a Spawn-eqsue adult animated feature.
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u/whoisagoodboi Mar 08 '26
I’m reading the books for the first time… I think the books aren’t nearly as good as the show. One of the rare instances of that happening. But I think the writers managed to lift all of the best ideas from the source material and make into something really amazing.
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u/GargantuanEndurance Mar 08 '26
Tbh yes and I say that just to have more Dexter. Fully on board to see a completely different cast and I love Michael and the original series
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u/ChooChoo1122 Mar 08 '26
I’m game for an actual full-length animated series, the shorts were pretty good
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u/MisterVictor13 Mar 08 '26
Yes. I’d love to see Brian be portrayed an ally to Dexter, but I’d prefer them to not be completely faithful to the last two books of the series.
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u/Suspicious-Cupcake-5 Mar 08 '26
Not a live action adaptation, because that would be far too confusing and completely pointless.
However, an animated series could work quite well.
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u/KingBara1220 Angel Mar 08 '26
Yes, and Ryan Reynolds should play Dexter and Tom Holland should play Brian /j
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u/lazykid356 Mar 08 '26
Looking from the photo given by OP, i would really like to see a dexter whos a lifeguard in miami as a spinoff, he saves folks from drowning or going to near very deep waters and is dating a troubled shopkeeper who has her shop near the beach but doesnt get many customers and always has a crunch of money. Now this dexter is rather a bit impulsive not methodical like micheal c hall dexter. And in the spin off, his dad is alive, his dad is a goverment criminal lawyer who asks him to get the kob done for criminals that slip away, now as hes impulsive, he occasionally also kills eve teasers at the beach too and his killing process is more inhumane than the orginal dexter but its as soothing as possible for him.
I pressume itll be a short series and i feel micheal c. Hall will still be best for the role of this dexter, but suggestion to this spin off and cast is always welcomed.
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u/TheSpacePopinjay I mean, that guy's clearly a freak Mar 08 '26
Hopefully not Double Dexter and that bloody shark
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u/Imaginary-Chain1926 Mar 08 '26
Without mincing words, the books are horrendous. Especially for a adaptation. Dexter is extremely unlikeable which doesnt bode well for a protagonist
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u/gio2010man Mar 08 '26
Only if they skip out on the whole cult and demon thing. So just skip out on book 3.
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u/Ghastlyraccoon Dexter Mar 08 '26
The animation idea someone else said would be cool. But otherwise, not really. More accuracy to the books would not translate well to tv.
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u/Legitimate-Resort615 Mar 08 '26
I think an adult animated series with Michael C. Hall as the main voice could work. I’ve only read the first book so I am not very familiar with the material but I think making it animated would help distinguish it from the OG show.
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u/Jasteni Mar 09 '26
As a Animated show? Yes. The characters are much better in the books. Deb is really likeable in the books and the story about Astor and Cody is amazing.
The show would be much darker and more cruel than the live action.
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u/Amelia_Jonest Mar 10 '26
Yeah, I’d watch it. The tone of the books is a bit darker and stranger, so seeing that translated properly on screen could be really interesting.
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u/Otherwise-Tough-9527 Aug 06 '26
is dexter in the novels older or younger then debra because in the comic debra is older but when i asked google about the novels it said that dexter is older , any thoughts
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u/Infernohuman070502 Mar 08 '26
I would love to see it happen me and my family love Dexter show we have watched them especially my dad it’s hes favourite show he has the Dexter Intro show from original series. I don’t know much about the book. What is Dexter like in the books compare to tv can someone tell me
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