The novels written by the author sell best, but five years ago no one could have imagined how great

The novels written by the author sell best, but five years ago no one could have imagined how great a role he ______in the literary world.

A.was playing

B.was to play

C.had played

D.played

答案及解析： B

解析：

指五年前着眼看来后来发生的事，即“过去将来”。