Earlier this year, it was rumoured that Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin would make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut (after previously appearing in Daredevil) in an episode of Hawkeye. The actor has since (kind of) denied those reports, but Echo's introduction - and those plans for her spinoff series - have only helped further increase speculation in recent weeks.
Recently, veteran Marvel Studios executive producer Trinh Tran was asked why she chose to include Echo in this show and told the interviewer that they'll "need to speak after you've seen the f...the rest of the episodes." That might not seem like much, but it's led to renewed theories that, yes, we really will meet a rebooted Wilson Fisk in either the fourth or fifth episodes.
This really isn't much to go on, but something tells us we are going to see Kingpin again a couple of weeks from now. Not only will that set the stage for Echo (in the comic books, Fisk killed her father but framed Daredevil for the crime), but it should help emphasise that this series is a must-watch for fans.
If it doesn't happen, then we're probably going to be looking at Mephisto-levels of disappointment all over again. Any sort of unrealistic expectations heading into these shows can be blamed on fans and "scoopers," but if Kingpin's return doesn't happen here, we don't know if it ever will at this point.
Check out the interview for yourselves below to see what you make of Tran's comments: