For the fifth and final season of "Boardwalk Empire," HBO hopes to "get at the heart of the action when it comes to the rise of infamous gangsters and the end of Prohibition," Enstars reports. The storyline will be skipping ahead to 1931, with reports that the seven-year time might result to cutting out some characters.
Powerful gangster Arnold Rothstein, played by 46-year-old actor Michael Stuhlbarg, is one of the characters who won't be appearing in the new season, according to rumors. The reason behind the speculation is that the character was not seen in the recent teasers for the upcoming season of Terence Winter's period drama.
Other actors, like Vincent Piazza, who plays Lucky Luciano (Rothstein's associate), have been seen in the show's previews. The most logical explanation to the Stuhlbarg's character is presumably the real-life Rothstein's murder on November 24, 1928, which is three years earlier than when the new story takes place.
For the viewers of the show, the presumed exit of the major character is a little sudden. Some people are asking whether the show will continue sticking to history or bend some of the real-life events to give the character a proper closure.
In Season 4's finale, Rothstein made a deal with Kelly Macdonald's Margaret Schroeder in exchange for housing for her and her two children.
Den of Geek suggested previously that there is a possibility that Dutch Shultz, who was believed to be behind Rothstein's murder in 1928, could be an addition to the period drama's season finale.
"Boardwalk Empire" is a crime/period drama penned by Primetime Emmy award-winning screenwriter and producer, Terence Winter. Set during the Prohibition Era, the series is inspired by Nelson Johnson's book "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City," which is about the historical criminal kingpin Enoch L. Johnson.
"Boardwalk Empire" Season 5 will start airing on September 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
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