Following his surprise appearance on Hawkeye, Vincent D'Onofrio is not scheduled to return as Kingpin for any future MCU projects. The actor originated the role of the imposing crime lord in the Netflix series Daredevil, which ran on the streaming service for three seasons from 2015 to 2018, also crossing over with the other Netflix Marvel series in the one-season series The Defenders. Although those series, which also included Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage, were technically part of MCU canon, they never meaningfully interacted with the characters from the Marvel film branch until 2021.

Within the span of one week this past December, Charlie Cox returned as Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil) in a brief cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, shortly after D'Onofrio's Kingpin was revealed to be the Big Bad in all the organized crime machinations of Hawkeye, the live-action Disney+ series following Avenger Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner). Kingpin came to the fore in the finale, in which he displayed his prodigious strength as he attempted to bring down Hawkeye and his protegé Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) once and for all. However, though the camera panned away from the actual event, it seemed that the episode ended with Kingpin's niece Maya (Alaqua Cox) shooting him mercilessly in a dark alley.

Related: Daredevil In No Way Home Totally Beat Kingpin In Hawkeye

During an interview with The Sarah O'Connell Show, Vincent D'Onofrio was asked if there were any plans for him to return in any of the many Marvel projects that are in production in 2022. His answer was, simply, "no." D'Onofrio lamented, saying "I've been through this before with Daredevil." He says that Marvel knows he wants to return as Kingpin, because "I'm just beginning to have fun with it" and "there's so much more to do with this character." Read the full quote below:

No, [I’m not currently signed on for more Marvel projects.] I've been through this before with Daredevil. It's very clear to them all that I really want to play this part, keep playing it. You know, I'm just hoping that continues. I'm just beginning to have fun with it.

I still think there's so much more to do with this character, so I'm just hoping that I do get a call. That would be really nice, and I would like to continue.

Hawkeye Deleted Scene

D'Onofrio is clearly interested in keeping the character of Kingpin going. In a previous interview, he expressed hope that Kingpin didn't actually die in his final Hawkeye scene, saying that he had originally "hoped Daredevil wouldn't end" either. One glimmer of hope is that the last time the actor felt like this, he was indeed given another opportunity to portray the role.

Unfortunately, the ending of Hawkeye was reasonably conclusive. Seemingly, the reason the camera panned away was to avoid showing R-rated violence rather than a desire to make his fate ambiguous. However, given the way the MCU is beginning to embrace the multiverse in Loki and the newest Spider-Man film as well as the impending Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, even if he is truly dead that doesn't mean he will never be able to appear in some other form.

Next: Hawkeye's Deleted Kingpin Scenes Made D'Onofrio's Reveal Far Better

Source: The Sarah O'Connell Show

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