Who will take the lead in House of Cards’ final season?

With Spacey gone, rumours are swirling

After star Kevin Spacey was accused of propositioning an underage Anthony Rapp in 1986, Netflix announced that the upcoming sixth season of House of Cards would be its last.

The streaming service claimed it had nothing to do with the news surrounding Spacey, but the timing proved to be even more convenient when, days later, the actor was hit with multiple more assault and harassment allegations, this time leading the streaming network to fire him entirely.

Rumours have swirled for weeks about how the final season might play out, with Netflix having axed Spacey from all promotional materials on its website.

Robin Wright, who has starred alongside Spacey since the beginning of the series, playing wife Claire to his Frank Underwood, seemed the front-runner to be shifted to lead, particularly after having ended the last season as the reigning president. We now know, via The Hollywood Reporter, that the final season will not only star Wright and write out Spacey in a strange case of life imitating art, but that the sixth season will be a slim eight episodes, with production set to start in early 2018.

On Monday, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos told a press conference, “We are excited to bring closure to fans.” He also acknowledged the importance of the 2,000-person production crew hoping to return to work.

The final season was originally billed as 13 episodes, with production already having been completed on the initial two at the time Spacey’s scandal ignited.

For those mourning the loss of a Frank Underwood gone too soon, don’t fret. In the original novel the series is based on, written by Michael Dobbs, Frank’s character is confronted with all the wrong he’s done and commits suicide, jumping to his death from the roof garden of the Houses of Parliament.

So, it could certainly be the case Spacey’s character was always meant to go out on a deathly note. Whether that means we’ll see a suicide, an assassination or an entirely written-out character is still to be determined.

Netflix, which also cancelled plans on a Gore Vidal biopic starring Spacey, recently expressed interest in a House of Cards spinoff, though those details are also up in the air.

Meanwhile, Spacey was also cut out of upcoming film All the Money in the World, replaced in reshoots by Christopher Plummer.

Kevin Spacey