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Hawkeye Director Reveals Kingpin Wasn't Originally Supposed to Be the Big Villain Reveal


Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin finally made his return during the last two episodes of Hawkeye and fans couldn't be happier with his comeback as he was a fan-favorite character back in Netflix's Daredevil. While his final scene in the series was ambiguous about his future in the MCU, fans are looking forward to seeing what's next in store for the character. But as it turns out, he wasn't supposed to be the show's big villain reveal.

In an interview with CinemaBlend, director Rhys Thomas revealed that D'Onofrio's Kingpin wasn't originally supposed to be the big villain reveal in Hawkeye, but a Marvel executive stepped in to make him be part of the series. He said, "The Kingpin of it all was not on the cusp when I started the show, but I feel like his presence was never far. Like, we were always circling this other ‘big bad guy,’ but there was a moment when a Marvel executive came over and said, ‘You know, this is what we’re gonna do about that.’"

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He also shared that they didn't have an idea that the series is partially connected to Spider-Man: No Way Home which had the appearance of Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock and an easter egg related to Rogers: The Musical. He added, "As far as a larger plan and a crossover with Spider-Man: No Way Home, I did not know that they would do that. They do a wonderful job at Marvel of keeping everybody quite siloed, and I think they do this for your own security. People seem to sort of assume that there is this room where everything is all mapped out, but, no, they keep you kind of focused on your own show and only give you the information that they feel they need to give."

Looking back, it's now hard to think of the series without having Kingpin as the villain especially with the appearance of Maya Lopez who has strong connections with him in the comics, and the fact that the New York criminal underworld is involved in the story. In the end, they ended up making a great decision of having Kingpin as the big villain reveal as it gave us an opportunity to have D'Onofrio come back on the role.

If Kingpin didn't end up as the big villain of the series, which character would have been the villain instead? It's possible that it could have been a new character or they might have written Eleanor Bishop as a mafia boss instead of an associate. Either way, we're just glad that Kingpin is back.

Also Read: Hawkeye Star Vincent D'Onofrio Confirms Kingpin's Post-Blip Fate

All episodes of Hawkeye are streaming on Disney+.

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