In skipping ahead to 1931 for the final season of Boardwalk Empire, HBO is aiming to get at the heart of the action when it comes to the rise of infamous gangsters and the end of prohibition. However, the seven-year time jump from Season 4 to 5 might force some characters to be cut entirely.

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The 46-year-old Long Beach native Michael Stuhlbarg (Lincoln, Hitchcock) has been known for portraying the well connected, calculated, and occasionally unsettling Arnold Rothstein on Terence Winter's prohibition drama.

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While other actors like Vincent Piazza (Lucky Luciano) have been seen in recent previews for the show's upcoming season stepping up to play a major roles in the 1930s criminal network, Stulhbarg is noticeably absent. Why? Possibly because the real-life Rothstein was murdered November 24, 1928, three years before the new season takes place.

The exit of a major player like Rothstein, who made a deal with Margaret Schroeder (Kelly Macdonald) at the end of last season in exchange for housing for her and her two children, would be a little sudden. Could the series bend history in order to properly close out the character's storyline.

Den of Geek suggested on July 22 that perhaps Dutch Shultz, believed to have been the one to murder Rothstein in 1928, could play a role in the drama's final season.

Boardwalk Empire returns to HBO for its fifth and final season September 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

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