'Vikings' season 4 spoilers: Ragnar's death inevitable

Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrockhistoryasia.com

Months after the third season finale of "Vikings" was aired by History Channel, rumors about the show's fourth season are starting to intensify.

Speculations about Ragnar Lothbrok's possible death in "Vikings" season 4 has been going around ever since he became wounded during the end of the bloody battle in season 3.

The rumors about the death of the well-respected King of Denmark started to build up after several sources claimed that actor Travis Fimmel will have to leave the show to work on his other acting commitments.

According to reports, Fimmel will focus on the filming of the movie adaptation of Blizzard's "Warcraft" video game. He will portray the role of main character Anduin Lothan for the movie, which is set to premiere on June 10, 2016.

To ensure that Fimmel's seamless exit from the fictional historical drama, speculations claim that Ragnar will die in "Vikings" season 4.

While some fans remained reluctant to accept Ragnar's possible demise on the show, "Vikings" series showrunner Michael Hirst said that the character's exit was always a part of the plan.

"I've always seen Vikings without Ragnar. I thought it was very important when I started thinking about this whole thing that Ragnar had many sons and some of his sons became more famous than he was," Hirst explained during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "So I can perfectly well envision a world without Ragnar and further adventures for the sons. Absolutely. That's something I really, really want to do."

In his other interviews, Hirst claimed that there will be a significant time jump in the next installment of "Vikings." This could possibly feature the events that will happen after Ragnar's death in the series.

At the moment, History Channel has yet to reveal the official release date of "Vikings" season 4 in 2016.