'House of Cards' season 5 spoilers: Claire may gain presidency; Doug and Leann romance could lead to betrayals, conspiracies

The anticipation is building up as Netflix ordered a season 5 for the American political drama "House of Cards," which is set to release by the first half of 2017.

Amid news of the showrunner Beau Willimon leaving to pursue writing an original play, there have been talks of the "House of Cards" season 5 premiere finding Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) dying from an illness hinted at in the previous season. It does not take a genius to figure out what this could mean for Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), Frank's wife and biggest rival for the presidency. Given the fact that Claire is the vice president, Frank's demise could very well catapult her into the highest office in the land.

It is noted that Frank's death was foreseen by a Reddit user named Santidreet, who is closely following the series. Rumor also has it that Claire may be responsible for Frank's later demise based on her earlier efforts to bring him to the brink of war. The latter's death seems to be a common theme in rumors and speculations running rampant, although nothing is confirmed yet.

Frank's fall from power is said to be a foregone conclusion considering the full deck of cards have been played out in the fourth season, and the fifth season shall be the account on the fall of the house of cards. This is why another Reddit user, changyang1230, thought of the possibility that the upcoming season may be the show's last.

Whatever transpires, Willimon will not be there to see it happen. To date, Netflix has not made an announcement regarding the replacement for the showrunner. The streaming network though released a statement thanking the four-season showrunner.

"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."

On another note, romance could potentially sprout between Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) and Leann Harvey (Neve Campbell), given their being evenly matched and despite being on opposite sides of the table. However, it is also speculated that such a pairing could lead to leaks of trade secrets, possibly betrayals and conspiracies.

"House of Cards" season 5 may be out as early as March 2017.