The MCU is filled with incredible villains — Thanos. Kilmonger. Loki. In a franchise that was originally criticized for weak villains at the start, over time, it grew to feature some of the most iconic in the world, pulling from the rich history of Marvel Comics. One of the earliest examples of a great MCU villain was Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin, in Daredevil season one in 2015. For many, his character stole the series, so it was no surprise when he returned in both seasons two and three of the series. Yet following Netflix’s cancelation of Daredevil in 2018 and the unknown canonical status of the show, many wondered if this character and depiction by D’Onofrio would be forgotten about.

Fans were delighted then to see D’Onofrio reprise his role as Kingpin in the Disney+ series Hawkeye on December 17, 2021 (the same day that Charlie Cox reprised his role as Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, in Spider-Man: No Way Home). The series also revealed that Wilson Fisk was the “uncle” of Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), who eventually turned on him when she discovered he set her father up to die. While the season ended with Maya shooting Kingpin, audiences only heard a gunshot, so many assumed he would return somehow.

Marvel Studios has invested heavily in D’Onofrio’s Kingpin. He is set for a major role in Disney+’s Echo which kicks off 2024 for the MCU. He will then be the lead antagonist in the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again. D’Onofrio has had a long history with the character and has seen him go through an interesting journey. “I’ve just been lucky to get the opportunity, beginning with the Netflix show with really good writing, to bring him forward in kind of a new way, but just my version of what they did in the original comics,” said the actor, adding:

Now, in Echo, it’s just more good writing, and without the writing, I can’t really do much other than show up. The writing is there, and it gives me the opportunity to bring the character forward.

MovieWeb attended a panel featuring the cast and crew of Echo, and D’Onofrio revealed some fascinating aspects about how his character has evolved over the MCU, his role in Echo, and high praise for both star Alaqua Cox and the women-centric crew of the new Disney+ series.

Kingpin’s Role in Echo and His Evolution
Marvel’s Echo Release Date January 9, 2024 Seasons 1

While fans were certainly excited to see D’Onofrio reprise his role as Kingpin in Hawkeye, he did not get much time on the series. While teased throughout the series, he was first only fully shown through a photo at the end of episode five and did not get a speaking role until the following episode, which was the finale. He was certainly more of a big reveal and final antagonist than a fully fleshed-out character, despite the hints of his dynamic with Maya Lopez. Now, in Echo, he gets a much bigger role. “I think, with Echo, is the first time since the Netflix show when I’ve actually felt like we brought Fisk into Maya’s story, but in a way that Fisk is, I think, best portrayed,” said D’Onofrio. He went on:

It’s very similar to the way it was in the original series, and that’s very exciting for me, because it has a more grittier feel to it, and it’s a more emotional story with me and Alaqua’s [Cox] character, Maya. And I think that kind of tone is the proper way for where my character, I believe, lives best.

Related: Where Will Daredevil and Kingpin Show Up in Future MCU Projects?

D’Onofrio has now played the Kingpin for nine years. The character has gone on a long journey. Even if the continuity is not entirely the same as it was in the Daredevil Netflix series (which remains fairly unknown), when D’Onofrio appears on-screen, he carries with him a weight and history audiences associate with The Kingpin.

“Every time I’ve played this character, it’s been for a different storyline. I think that no matter what character I’m playing, and I think most actors think this way, that even if I’m playing Fisk over and over again, my first job is to service the story,” said D’Onofrio. “So there was the Netflix version and then there was the Hawkeye version, where I was servicing the story that was written. In Echo, it’s the same thing. I mean, my personal tastes are different than — ’cause we all have different personal tastes. But in the end, my job is to serve the story.”

Kingpin’s role in Echo is very different from his previous ones. The character has previously interacted with more grounded street-level heroes in New York City, like Daredevil and The Punisher. Echo, however, opens the door to pull Kingpin not only out of New York City but also into a new type of story, one with a greater sense of history than just a crime drama. D’Onofrio explained:

“I have an opportunity to evolve all the time… It depends on where the script takes you. Evolve backward, forward, whichever way the story takes me. I’m lucky to be able to make a living doing it. I could’ve never expected to be in a show like Echo, just because of everything from the whole ancestral part of this show that Maya’s character or that her ancestors bring us to. That’s something I could’ve never expected that my character would be involved in.”

Working with Alaqua Cox
Disney

Both the original Marvel Comics and MCU feature Wilson Fisk acting as an adoptive father figure to Maya Lopez after her father is killed (by Kingpin, of course). Echo looks to expand on that storyline, featuring Fisk as a dark paternal figure to Maya Lopez, one who corrupted her from the path that her father and family originally wanted for her. D’Onofrio broke down the nature of the two characters’ relationship going into Echo, saying:

“We’re very fortunate to be able to portray these characters as a father-daughter, or a niece-nephew, however you want to say it, kind of relationship. We’re bringing forward this kind of intensity in their normal relationship that might have some trepidation in it, like real life, as people deal with every day. Then you add this kind of iconic Marvel part of it, which is good and evil, and just the combination of those two things. It just plays so well because it’s all grounded in real emotions, yet you have these dynamic characters in the situation as well.”

Alaqua Cox’s role as Maya Lopez in 2021’s Hawkeye was her first acting role, and now she steps into the lead role of her own MCU Disney+ series, which now marks her second role. D’Onofrio only had high praise for Cox, saying:

“She’s just so impressive. The girl knows what she’s doing. I was impressed every day, and it was amazing. Obviously, the writing has a lot to do with it. The story that Alaqua and I were trying to service as the characters has a lot to do with it, but in the end, it comes to the day when the camera’s rolling, and she was just always there in every capacity. I was able to react off her, and I guess her off of me. It takes talent, and it takes guts, and the girl carried the show like a pro. There’s just nothing you can say, really, other than she’s just extremely impressive.”

Speaking Highly of the Women Behind Echo’s Production
Disney

D’Onofrio is a veteran actor who has appeared in a number of films, from 1987’s Full Metal Jacket, directed by Stanley Kubrick, to the role of Orson Welles in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood and the main villain in 2015’s Jurassic World from director Colin Trevorrow. He has been in multiple television series, including Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He has worked on a lot of productions and with some high-profile talent, and it appears Echo was no different. He said:

“Every once in a while, it doesn’t happen a lot in a person’s career, and young actors learn this in time like I did — every once in a while, you’ll merge with a production where you just go into it wanting to please everybody. Like, Sydney Freeland had a lot to do with that when it comes to my performance in this show. You know, the script pleases you. I wanted to please her as a director. She has this quality where you just want to do the right thing for the lady. You just do.”

Related: Before Marvel’s Echo, Watch These 5 Movies & TV Shows

He went on to speak more highly of director Sydney Freeland and the entire production team. “She’s just awesome, and you just want to do the right thing for her. She’s got this great way of directing. It’s so subtle and so powerful at the same time. It’s pretty amazing. That kind of thing doesn’t always happen in one’s career,” said D’Onoforio.

The praise did not stop there. He had incredibly nice things to say about the entire production crew and even spoke about how it was one of the most pleasant sets he has been on. “There’s a couple of things about this show that were really special. One of them was the fact that Sydney was one of the directors and executive producers,” said D’Onofrio, adding:

And then there was the fact that I’m sorry, but I have to say it. The DP was a woman. The writer was a woman. The directors were women. The lead is a woman. It’s one of the smoothest shows that I have ever seen in my life. It was run so well. There was never a kink in the day.

“Nobody ever bumped against anything, not while I was there anyway,” continued D’Onofrio. “It was one of the smoothest productions. The first thing I said to my kids when I got home was, ‘That was one of the smoothest productions I’ve ever been on.’ It was amazing. And that doesn’t always happen.”

Kingpin’s Evolution
Disney

Finally, D’Onofrio broke down what it is like to be playing a major Marvel villain like The Kingpin. Created by Stan Lee and John Romita Jr., the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #50 in 1967, the exact same story that saw the famous Spider-Man no more panel that was used in Spider-Man 2.

Since then, he has become one of the most famous villains in Marvel Comics, standing alongside figures like Doctor Doom, Magneto, and Green Goblin. D’Onofrio is part of a great legacy of people to play the famous Kingpin, as he was previously played by John Rhys-Davies in 1989’s The Trial of The Incredible Hulk, the late great Michael Clarke Duncan in 2003’s Daredevil, and voiced by Liev Schreiber in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Yet it can be said that D’Onofrio’s version of Kingpin is the most iconic take on the character and is beloved by fans everywhere. “There’s a built-in fan base that they’re so excited about things, and so it inspires you to deliver,” said D’Onofrio. “A lot of people ask me, you know, do you get nervous over the fan base expecting so much from you, and it doesn’t make me nervous at all. It just inspires me to do a good job.”

Echo premieres all five episodes on Disney+ on January 9, 2024. Check out the trailer below, and stream the series through the link below that:

Stream on Disney+