Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Hawkeye episode 6, "So This is Christmas?," and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Vincent D'Onofrio confirms both Hawkeye and Daredevil's incarnations of his Kingpin are the same and explains how the studio ties them. The Primetime Emmy nominee first made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Wilson Fisk in the latter Netflix series as the primary antagonist for its first season. Following the introductions of The Punisher and The Hand as villains for Daredevil season 2, Kingpin would return in season 3 and lead to the creation of the show's version of Bullseye.

Hawkeye takes place sometime after the events of Avengers: Endgame as Clint Barton heads to New York for a family holiday vacation, only to be interrupted when Kate Bishop inadvertently draws the attention of Ronin's past enemies, the Tracksuit Mafia. Barton must team up with Kate, a superfan of Hawkeye, to put a stop to the threats and get back to his family in time for Christmas. Hawkeye gave fans the exciting return of D'Onfrio's Kingpin to the world of the MCU and the actor behind the role is offering new insight into his return.

Related: One Hawkeye Line Saved Clint And Natasha’s Whole Relationship

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant for the new series, D'Onofrio opened up about his Kingpin return in Hawkeye. When asked whether the Disney+ series exists separate from Netflix's Daredevil, the star confirmed that both versions of the Kingpin are the same and explained how Marvel connected the dots between them. See what D'Onofrio said below:

"I think from my point of view, like a lot of the Avengers stuff, a lot of the MCU stuff, they tried to connect as many dots to the original canon as they can, and some dots are just not possible to connect. And that's what we've done with connecting to Daredevil and vice versa. There's some dots [that] are connected. Like in the Hawkeye show, Fisk is obviously physically stronger and can take more physical abuse. But the key to his being an interesting character, in my mind, will always be the fact that he has this emotional life that grounds him, that makes everything work, as far as I'm concerned.

We can sell that character in so many facets. Story-wise we can sell it, if we keep him based in that emotional life. And I know that the writers, and the producers, and me, and everybody involved in the Hawkeye show, we were all on the same page about that. I have to say that they're very collaborative people and – not only to mention awesome people, very nice – but the producers, like I said, the writers and the directors were all just thrilled to work with so we kept along those lines. And I think that's what will continue to make the character interesting if there's anything next for me to do."

Daredevil stands behind Kingpin in a room in Daredevil.

Kingpin's return in Hawkeye was an element many viewers took to theorizing in the lead up to the show's release, namely in the inclusion of Maya Lopez/Echo, who was his adoptive daughter in the comics after he had her father killed. The exact nature of his D'Onofrio's return was called into question, however, as many audiences have debated whether the Netflix Marvel shows were actually a part of the MCU or set in a separate universe. Even Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director James Gunn has stated that there was no coordination between the now shuttered Marvel Television and larger Marvel Studios during the time of the Netflix and Hulu titles and therefore felt everything that came before WandaVision to not be official MCU canon.

D'Onofrio's confirmation that both Hawkeye and Daredevil's Kingpin are the same version of the character should come as an exciting note for the antagonist as well as the possibility for other Netflix characters to return. As seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home, rumors of Charlie Cox's return as Matt Murdock to the MCU as Peter Parker's lawyer proved true and created a new future for the blind lawyer and vigilante. Though Kingpin was seemingly killed by Maya near the end of the Hawkeye season finale, it will be interesting to see how Marvel looks to keep the ball rolling for the character in the future.

More: Upcoming Phase 4 MCU Movies & Shows Daredevil Could Appear In

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