Vincent D'Onofrio Has Strong Opinions About Kingpin's Future In The MCU

The following article contains spoilers for "Hawkeye" Episode 6.

Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio) is officially back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After appearing as the primary antagonist across three seasons of Netflix's "Daredevil," fans were uncertain if they'd see "the big guy" ever again. Those fears were assuaged in the final scene of "Hawkeye" Episode 5 when Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) receives a video of her mother, Eleanor (Vera Farmiga), meeting with Kingpin. 

Kate may have been horrified at the sight, but fans undoubtedly got out of their seats to cheer upon seeing Kingpin back in the MCU. They were ready to see what the villain had in store for the Season 1 finale of the Disney+ series, and with little screen time, he managed to make a big impression. He's positively dominating during his conversation scene with Eleanor, but he proves how deeply he cares for family when he meets with Maya (Alaqua Cox). 

However, something strange happens toward the episode's end. Kingpin meets again with Maya in an alleyway after escaping a fight with Kate. Maya wants out of the family business, and it seems she wants to make that a permanent change. She points a gun toward Wilson Fisk and pulls the trigger just as the camera pans upward. At first glance, it seems that Kingpin is gone just as fans got him back. Is this truly the end of the character? As it turns out, actor Vincent D'Onofrio has some thoughts on the villain's future with the franchise.

Kingpin has proven himself exceptionally difficult to kill. Across three seasons of "Daredevil," he put up quite a fight against everyone he went up against, and even in "Hawkeye," he doesn't die even after fighting Kate Bishop, which ended in an explosion right near him. It seems strange he would meet his end in a dark alleyway with a simple gunshot to the face. It's a rather anticlimactic way for such an iconic villain to go out, but Vincent D'Onofrio remains hopeful that this isn't the last time we've seen the antagonist.

In an interview with Screen Rant, D'Onofrio expressed his desire to continue playing this character and how he believed there were ways for him to keep coming back into the MCU. He stated, "Yeah. I hope he's not dead. You know, I feel the same way everybody else does about him. You know, he never died in the comics. But, I hoped that 'Daredevil' wouldn't end. So, it's like that. I think it's very clear. I think the fans know, and I think that Marvel knows, Kevin [Feige] knows, that I want to continue playing this character because I feel like there's — and I told them and him — that there's so many more facets of this character to explore, and he knows that I feel that way. And I think that I'll either do it, or I won't do it. So that's the business."

There are plenty of projects Kingpin would be perfect in coming up in the MCU. Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo, is receiving her own Disney+ spinoff series, so he could always come back there. Plus, fans keep clamoring for Kingpin to make the leap to movies and square off against Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Where there's a will there's a way in the MCU, and we have a feeling we haven't seen the last of Kingpin.