Fans of the iconic Hell's Kitchen antagonist Wilson Fisk, portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio, may be disappointed to learn that the character's future on the big screen seems uncertain. In a recent conversation on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, D’Onofrio shared some less-than-optimistic news about his character's potential in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
"The only thing I know is not positive," D’Onofrio revealed. "It's a very hard thing to do, for Marvel to use my character. It's a very hard thing to do, because of ownership and stuff." He further explained that Wilson Fisk is restricted to television appearances, dashing hopes of a standalone movie featuring the Kingpin. "I’m only usable for television shows. Not even a one-off Wilson Fisk movie. It’s all caught up in rights and stuff. I don’t know when that would work out — or if it ever would work out at all."
This development means that D’Onofrio’s portrayal of Fisk won't be featured in upcoming MCU films such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. This could also potentially impact any plans for a Daredevil movie, where Fisk would be a natural adversary for Charlie Cox’s Daredevil.
D’Onofrio first brought Fisk to life in the 2015 Netflix series Marvel’s Daredevil, which ran for three seasons and concluded in 2018 with nearly 40 episodes. His performance as New York City's powerful crimelord and future mayor, also known as Kingpin, has earned widespread acclaim from fans and critics. D’Onofrio's approach to the character is deeply influenced by classic performances, as he shared with IGN: “Anytime they were in a fight, or they were holding a gun, they looked nervous,” citing the likes of Harrison Ford and Gary Cooper in Sergeant York. "They carried their own humility into the action scenes with them. And I always thought that that was the way to go. That made it look real to me... I think that helps action stuff a lot. We're all very conscious of that."
Currently, fans can catch D’Onofrio as Fisk in Daredevil: Born Again, which is airing weekly on Disney+ and will conclude its first season on April 15, 2025.
