Actor Michael Kelly has been rumored to be leaving "House of Cards" season 5, but during an interview with Deadline, the actor not only confirmed he has already begun filming for the series but also hinted that there will be radical changes coming to the show. He referred to season 4, when Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) began to see his health deteriorate.
Kelly, who plays Frank's Chief of Staff and constant ally Doug Stamper, explained that show creator and former showrunner Beau Willimon explained he could always have Doug and Frank winning, "twirling their moustaches" in triumph since the audience loved seeing it but he also wanted to see these characters fail and rise back up.
"As we've gone along, you know, crazy [expletive] happens all the time," Kelly explained. "I feel like any big changes that have happened on the show, it's always well-warranted or well-deserved, that the audience will get it. They might have to wait longer than on your typical TV show, but they will bring you back."
Many fans speculate that some of these radical changes include Doug betraying Frank when the latter begins making all the wrong decisions in season 5, particularly given that it was Frank that initiated war at the end of season 4. There is also the lingering fact that Frank's wife, Claire (Robin Wright), may become a better ally for Doug to stick to.
In the original UK version of "House of Cards" Frank is assassinated by his wife and it is possible this will happen in season 5 of the Netflix version. Doug is speculated to play a big part of this although it is unclear if he will be helping Frank to stay alive or if he may be the one to pull the trigger on behalf of Claire.
"House of Cards" season 5 will premiere in 2017.
