It turns out that our favorite Hell's Kitchen villain, Wilson Fisk, portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio, is off-limits for the big screen. In a recent interview on the podcast Happy Sad Confused with Josh Horowitz, D’Onofrio shared some disheartening news about his character's future in the Marvel universe. "The only thing I know is not positive," he stated, explaining the complexities involved in using his character due to ownership rights. "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."
D’Onofrio elaborated that he is "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 revelation suggests that fans won't see D’Onofrio's Wilson Fisk in any Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, including the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. This limitation might also impact any potential Charlie Cox Daredevil movie, where D’Onofrio's presence as the villain would be expected.
D’Onofrio first brought Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin, to life in Marvel's Daredevil on Netflix in 2015. The series ran for three seasons, concluding with nearly 40 episodes in 2018. His portrayal of New York City’s most powerful crimelord and future mayor has been widely acclaimed by both fans and critics. D’Onofrio's approach to the character is deeply influenced by classic performances, as he shared with IGN last month. "Anytime they were in a fight, or they were holding a gun, they looked nervous," he said, citing inspirations like Harrison Ford and other legendary actors. "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. Gary Cooper in Sergeant York, when he takes aim, when he becomes the sniper, it's the humility in his eyes that you see. It's amazing. I think that helps action stuff a lot. We're all very conscious of that."
Currently, Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again is airing week-to-week on Disney+ and is set to conclude its finale on April 15, 2025.
