‘House of Cards’ Teases Dark Season 5 And Radical Change Ahead of Release Date

House ofCards Season 5 has an official release date and will premiere in 2017 on Netflix May 30th. The well-timed teaser trailer was released on inauguration day and it features an upside-down flag and the national anthem. The intent is apparent and suggests a dark theme for the fifth season of the Netflix long-running original series.

While the teaser does not reveal much about the plot of season 5. Michael Kelly, who plays Doug Stamper spoke with Deadline about radical changes on the show. When asked about Frank Underwood’s health failing in House of Cards Season 4 and radical changes of the show, Kelly replied with the following:

“I don’t know, because I feel like there have always been radical changes in this show. As we’ve gone along, you know, crazy shit happens all the time. Almost the entirety of Season 3 was about these characters failing, because Beau Willimon, I remember him saying to me, “Look, I can have you and Francis twirling your mustaches forever and destroying everything in your wake. People love it. But I want to challenge myself. I want to see what happens when these people fail.”

With the creator and showrunner Beau Willimon announcing his departure, it seems as though radical changes are happening behind the scenes as well. The new showrunners Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese are internal hires as they joined the series as writers in season 3 of House of Cards.

On Willimon’s departure, Netflix released a statement stating the following:

“Netflix and MRC owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Beau Willimon for his strong narrative vision for House of Cards over the show’s first four seasons. As an Academy Award-nominated writer, he made his first foray into television and built a riveting and critically acclaimed series, establishing his place in TV history. The producers, cast and crew join us in wishing Beau the best in his next creative adventure.”

'House of Cards' Adds Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott. Exclusive from @THR https://t.co/kskN50j9z4 pic.twitter.com/pEcMk9ZZ3l

— ScreenThemes (@screenthemes) October 23, 2016

Last year it was reported that the fifth season of House of Cards cast Patricia Clarkson and Campbell Scott in major roles. However, there are no details pertaining to their role in the upcoming season.

If you remember how season 4 of House of Cards ended, it comes as no surprise that season 5 will take a dark turn. While battling Republican nominee Will Conway in the Presidential elections, Frank Underwood’s past comes back to haunt him, his marriage is on the rocks and a story in the Herald threatens to end his political career.

Frank responds to this by creating chaos, which includes declaring war to fight back against terrorist group ICO. This will help distract the public from the bombshell story from Hammerschmidt and it will also help his reelection campaign. Some fans predict that Frank will defeat Conway in the fifth season and the plot will focus on the war and Frank’s relationship with Claire, who is set on becoming the vice president.

While the showrunner leaving has got fans nervous, not much will be changing with the core writing team behind the series. Kevin Spacey told a panel during a Netflix festival last year that the quality of work has not changed, according to Pop Sugar:

“Beau and I began these conversations, as we did every year, sort of about midway through the shooting of the previous seasons. So, much has been discussed, much has already been put on the table, lots of interesting ideas… we’re excited now that the writing process is happening.”

Production for the fifth season began in July of 2016 and will be released in May this year.

House of Cards Season 5 will feature 13 episodes and they will be all available on the release date of May 30th.

Are you looking forward to the upcoming season?

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[Featured Image by Kris Connor/Getty Images]