The following article contains spoilers for Hawkeye.
Hawkeye's finale is fresh out of the oven but the Marvel rumor mill never stops, especially when it comes to the show’s secret star Vincent D'Onofrio, who was recently asked about his thoughts on coming back for the role and what the future holds for Kingpin.
Regardless of D'Onofrio remaining cryptic about many details, he did give some insight into his big return in Hawkeye, pointing to the beginning of 2021 as the time when he was first approached by Kevin Feige to reprise his masterful Kingpin portrayal. The interview covered everything in between Kingpin's slight makeover, his abilities, and what the MCU could do with the character in the light of Hawkeye's exciting season ending.
Naturally, one of the big topics on the table is defining whether Daredevil is canon to the MCU, with the actor saying, “They’re trying their best to keep Daredevil as part of the canon… [however] It’s not always going to be 100%. There’s a lot of connecting the dots which Marvel is really good at.” However, he did confess he plays Wilson Fisk exactly as he did 4 years ago. Speaking of Kingpin's fate in Hawkeye, D'Onofrio pointed at Marvel Comics as the source for a moment he sees as very emotional to define his character’s relationship with his niece, Maya Lopez.
In fact, D'Onofrio went the extra mile to address one particular fan theory that’s been floating around claiming Kingpin survives his encounter with Echo, saying he “read that in the research I originally did for Daredevil. I think I read most of every run Kingpin was in." D'Onofrio added that he finds the pair’s father-daughter dynamic very cool. Despite neither confirming nor denying his character’s death, he did say he hadn’t considered the implications of playing a blind Kingpin, who - in the comics - loses his sight after narrowly escaping his death when he’s shot by Maya.
The actor also touched upon some matters not related to the MCU’s storyline, like his involvement in choosing Kingpin's renewed wardrobe, now complete with his cane from the comics plus new dashes of colors and flower prints to adorn his usually somber look. D'Onofrio also said he had fun helping Marvel Studios keep his involvement in Hawkeye a secret since he had to a black robe and hood on set and it made him feel “like Darth Vader."
One thing to keep in mind though, is that D'Onofrio said this Kingpin's "physical strength is definitely different. It’s bigger and some might say better. More like the comics." So unless Daredevil also gets a strength upgrade, Matt and Echo could have a hard time besting Fisk like Kate Bishop somehow manages to do through her sheer trickery, but of course, that's in case their paths were to cross again in any future MCU projects.
Hawkeye is now available on Disney Plus.
Source: GamesRadar+