Warning: This article may contain spoilers for Marvel’s Echo
Summary
- Vincent D’Onofrio has no intention of giving up his role as Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- Kingpin survived being shot in the Hawkeye series and now has his sights set on becoming Mayor of New York City.
- D’Onofrio has extensively researched the character of Kingpin and is dedicated to portraying him accurately.
When Netflix’s Daredevil show was canceled back in 2019, it appeared that Vincent D’Onofrio’s time playing Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk had come to an end with that of Charlie Cox as Matt Murdoch. Now, years later, it is as though that cancelation was just…well, a blip, with both stars having reprised their roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For D’Onofrio, the role is one that he now has no intention of giving up as long as Marvel Studios want him.
D’Onofrio’s Kingpin seemed to have had a very short return when he was shot by Maya Lopez at the end of 2021’s Hawkeye. However, as the recently released Echo series revealed, he survived being shot and has now clearly set his sights on becoming Mayor of New York City. As Marvel Studios are looking to expand their “street-level” arm of the franchise, it seems that Kingpin is going to be around for some time yet. D’Onofrio told ComicBook.com’s Creators on Creators:
“The only thing that could have held me back would be if I just had to keep on putting on all that weight and keep it on and so I don’t have to do that anymore, so I’m in the best shape I’ve been in a long time. I love these new kinds of ways that they actually construct the muscle fat suits that I have to wear. I think they finally work and feel right and look good. That helps a lot because it’s not the healthiest thing in the world to keep putting weight on and taking it off again. So yeah, I mean, as long as the powers that be will have me, I can’t see not playing this part, it’s so much fun.”
Daredevil: Born Again Gets Hugely Promising Update From Kingpin Actor Vincent D’Onofrio
Vincent D’Onofrio teases the same grit and violence as Echo, can’t believe how much Marvel Studios “care about this series.”
Vincent D’Onofrio Full Invested Himself in Kingpin’s Comic Book Appearances
While there are some actors who will enter the MCU without ever looking at an issue of Marvel Comics, D’Onofrio is not one of them. Despite Kingpin having a lengthy history on paper, the actor has made a conscious effort to read almost all of the stories featuring Kingpin. He said:
“I’ve seen everything that involved Fisk that’s up to this point. I mean, there’s some of the new runs, the Kingpin runs that I haven’t looked at yet, but as far as everything, any canon that connects Fisk I’ve read. All the runs, all the issues, and everything. And so I knew about Maya Lopez’s story.”
D’Onofrio will next return as Kingpin in Daredevil: Born Again, which has been undergoing some changes in recent months following the conclusion of the writers and actors’ strikes, and an overhaul of Marvel Studios’ output across the board. It has been recently suggested that as well as a number of story changes being made to the series, the episode count is also being slashed from the 18 episodes originally announced in 2022 to 13 episodes, which is in line with Netflix’s Daredevil series.
