Kingpin’s appearance in the Disney Plus original series Hawkeye suggests that he will be playing a big role in Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — but according to Vincent D’Onofrio, it’s because of fellow actor Hugh Jackman that he decided to take up the role of a villain character in the first place.
During an appearance on the Marvel News Desk podcast, D’Onofrio revealed how a game-changing conversation he had with the X-Men star led him to where he is today. “The only thing that was on my radar at that point when it came to superhero stuff was Robert [Downey Jr.]’s performance in Iron Man, which I thought was extremely impressive. I think I was actually with Hugh Jackman — he was over at my house ’cause our kids went to the same school,” D’Onofrio explains, “and we were sitting at my patio . . . and I said, ‘This superhero stuff is really turning out to be interesting,’ and he goes, ‘Yeah!’ And I’m like, ‘You know, I think one day I’m gonna get the chance to play one of those bad guys, and I think I could tear it up.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, I think you could too.’”
D’Onofrio made his first appearance as Wilson Fisk in the original Netflix series Daredevil. Set after the Avengers’ Battle of New York, Kingpin emerged as a main antagonist for Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) as he worked to take down the criminal underworld of Hell’s Kitchen both as a lawyer and a superhero.
While the streaming service canceled Daredevil after three years, the characters seem to be making their way to the big screen. Not only was Fisk revealed to be Hawkeye’s secret villain, but Murdock also made a surprise cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
It’s been said before that Disney Plus’ Marvel shows are very much linked to the main Marvel Cinematic Universe, so it looks like there’s a chance that Murdock and Fisk might end up going head to head once again in future action movies.