The secret is out: Vincent D'Onofrio is back as Kingpin! It's not exactly a spoiler at this point as rumours have done the rounds about him showing up in Hawkeye for months, while hints he'd appear began as soon as the show's first episode (before we finally got confirmation in the penultimate instalment).
Now, the actor is doing the rounds to discuss his return as Wilson Fisk...and what might come next.
Deadline asked if Maya Lopez seemingly gunning the villain down means this is the end for Kingpin in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and D'Onofrio is giving nothing away. "I hope he didn’t die," the actor admits. "I’m with the fans, I want to keep playing this part. My hope is that we continue."
The trade also pushed D'Onofrio to see if he knows why the Tracksuit Mafia was so keen to retrieve that Rolex from the black market auction. "I’m trying to figure it out like everyone else. I’m in the same boat: I really need more information." We're not sure if that's actually leading anywhere, as it seems likely they were after it because it could reveal Agent 19's identity to the highest bidder.
In a separate interview with TV Line, the Hawkeye star was once again asked about the chances of Kingpin's survival after being shot at point-blank range by Maya. "There are many facets to the character that could be explored, so I only can hope that we continue," he teased. "It’s not the first time I’ve had to walk away from this character, but we’ll see."
The site also wondered whether D'Onofrio is looking forward to potentially getting to cross paths with his old Daredevil co-star Charlie Cox again after his return as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
"I would love for that," he says. "It hasn’t crossed my mind a lot; I’ve kind of walked away from Daredevil. For a bit, I thought it might come back, but it’s been years now. I gave up on that [possibility]. But I didn’t know that I was going to get a call from [Marvel Studios chief] Kevin [Feige], either, so everything’s up for grabs. I had no idea that I would do Hawkeye."
Fingers crossed for Echo, eh? That's the most likely next destination for The Kingpin right now.