Who Plays Maya's Uncle In Hawkeye Episode 3?

"Hawkeye" Episode 3 sees Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) escape from the Tracksuit Mafia in an explosive fashion. It's got the best action scene of the series so far, including a one-take car chase to the George Washington Bridge, which culminates in a truly epic use of Hawkeye's trick arrows. But it also properly introduces audiences to Echo-Maya Lopez, played by Alaqua Cox, after her brief appearance at the end of Episode 2.

Maya is the formidable leader of the Tracksuit Mafia following her father's death at the hands of Ronin during the five-year gap between "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." A flashback in Episode 3, "Echoes" (via IMDb), shows Ronin brutally slaying a number of Tracksuit Mafia members when Maya arrives. Unfortunately, she finds her father, William Lopez (Zahn McClarnon), who quickly succumbs to his wounds. Marvel Comics readers will know that Echo becomes a hero in her own right, but she also struggles with the criminals in her adopted family.

Episode 3 briefly teases Maya's "uncle," who shows up during one of her martial arts classes. Despite his large stature, the scene conveniently doesn't show his face. He chuckles and pinches her cheek before leaving, so it's clear he cares for her. (Although, let's get it out of the way now — he isn't Mephisto. Probably) But there's plenty of rumors around who Maya's uncle might be, and they certainly make sense considering the comics.

At the time of writing, it's unclear who exactly is the man seen pinching young Maya Lopez's cheek in "Hawkeye" Episode 3. However, based on what we know about Maya's connection to the "Daredevil" universe and the way this unseen character is depicted, there's a clear frontrunner: Wilson Fisk. Also known as the Kingpin, Fisk adopts Maya in the comics after killing her father, and he sends her to an expensive school where she trains to be a skilled fighter. Many fans think this is a sign that Vincent D'Onofrio is set to return to his villainous role after playing the legendary crime lord in the Netflix "Daredevil" series. Although Maya's "uncle" doesn't say anything in his brief appearance in Episode 3, his little chuckle certainly sounds like it could come from D'Onofrio. Furthermore, the black suit worn by the larger character certainly fits Kingpin's intimidating frame, whoever he may be played by.

Rumors about D'Onofrio's return swirled online several months before "Hawkeye" arrived on Disney+ — and one Reddit thread suggested that Daredevil himself was originally set to cameo in the series. However, scheduling got in the way and Marvel Studios saw the opportunity to bring Kingpin back into the fold. This lines up with all the ongoing rumors about "Spider-Man: No Way Home," where there's plenty of speculation (alongside supposedly leaked images) that Charlie Cox will reprise his role as Matt Murdock. A more recent comment on the same Reddit thread claims that Kingpin will show up in Episodes 4, 5, and 6 — so at least fans won't have long to wait to see if the rumors play out or not.

"Hawkeye" Episodes 1-3 are now streaming on Disney+.