For a few years, the future of Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Wilson Fisk a.k.a. Kingpin was up in the air… but now, it feels limitless. Three years after the cancellation of the Netflix series Daredevil in 2018, the actor returned to the role in with a surprise appearance in 2021’s Hawkeye, and he most recently reprised the part in the Disney+ limited series Echo. We’ll next get to see him square off with Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock in the series Daredevil: Born Again, but what will MCU fans get to see after that? If D’Onofrio has his druthers, one project would be an episode of What If…? where he gets to go to super dark places with the character.
During a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Vincent D’Onofrio shared his vision for a “What If…?” story – which is to say a standalone narrative about a non-canon version of Wilson Fisk from an alternate universe. Instead of the tale featuring him sparring with a character outside of those typically associated with Kingpin (Daredevil, Elektra, Spider-Man, etc.), he would love to see a more realistic take where there are no superheroes to get in Fisk’s way. He explains,
I would love to do, like a, What If…? kind of Fisk story. I would just like to explore him in a, outside of the usual teaming up of villain and superhero. I’d like to see a truly more realistic version, kind of like what they did with the Joker … A more interior approach and you know, 10 times darker than anything we’ve done with him before. You know, exploring that would be really interesting.
If you’ve seen Daredevil, then you’ll register that “10 times darker than anything we’ve done with him before” is quite a statement. When Wilson Fisk really gets going in that show, he turns into a violent, raging (non-literal) monster, and he is depicted committing some horrific acts (him using a car door to turn a guy’s head into mush comes to mind). Even the origin is worthy of a few gasps, as the streaming series has a young Fisk murdering his abusive father with a hammer. How do you get much darker than that?
While it would be a challenge for a What If…? story to feature a more violent version of Kingpin, it definitely would be scary to see him operating in a world where there are no forces capable of stopping him. Both in the comics and in the established MCU canon, the character gets elbow deep into terrible crimes, and even with Daredevil and other vigilantes halting some of his most heinous acts, he is never out of commission for very long. Witnessing what he could achieve unfettered would certainly be disturbing.
What If? Season 2 unfurled for Disney+ subscribers with daily releases in the final week of 2023, but more adventures are indeed on the way, as Season 3 has been given the green light and is currently in development. As for Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, Daredevil: Born Again has restarted production, and the premiere of the show is expected as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 2025 slate. For more about what’s on the way from the franchises, check out our Upcoming Marvel Movies and Upcoming Marvel TV guides.