Will we ever see Daredevil: Born Again's Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin in an MCU movie? Here's what the star said

Daredevil: Born Again's Vincent D'Onofrio sat down for an interview with Josh Horowitz on the latter's Happy Sad Confused podcast on April 3, 2025. In that interview, the actor touched upon a wide range of topics, including the chances of appearing in an upcoming movie from Marvel Cinematic Universe. When he was asked about it, the actor answered in the negative.

He revealed that the character of Wilson Fisk can appear in the MCU only in a TV series and not a movie because of a rights issue. It may look like Marvel can adapt any character it wants, but in reality, a lot of characters, especially those from the Hulk and Spider-Man comics, might be off-limits.

This is disappointing, considering Fisk in the comics is a recurring villain of not just Daredevil but also The Punisher and Spider-Man.

Daredevil: Born Again's Vincent D'Onofrio explains why Wilson Fisk can't appear in an MCU movie:

As mentioned earlier, the actor appeared on the latest Happy Sad Confused podcast where the actor explained why Wilson Fisk/Kingpin can't appear in a movie. His exact words were:

"The only thing I know is not positive. Like, it's a very hard thing to do to use my character in [an MCU film], and for Marvel to [use] my character, it's a very hard thing to do because of ownership and stuff. I think, right now, I'm only usable for television series."

Thus, everyone who has been waiting for a team-up between Spider-Man and Daredevil to take down Kingpin's criminal empire may not get their dream movie or will have to wait a while to get their wishes fulfilled. For now, Spider-Man can't physically appear in a Daredevil: Born Again episode because the Wall-Craweler can't appear in a Marvel Studios series because of the rights issue again.

Brad Winderbaum, the Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation, was interviewed by Brandon Davis's Phase Hero podcast in February 2025. In that interview, Winderbaum explained the reason why Spider-Man can not appear in a live-action streaming show produced by Marvel Studios:

"I'm not sure exactly what the rules are, but I think they have long-form television rights at Sony... he [Spider-Man] can do like 30-minute animation, I think."

Therefore, Marvel Studios can produce something like Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which is an animated series with approximately 30-minute episodes, but it can't produce something like the Spider-Noir show.

Explaining the Marvel Studios rights issues:

The 1990s was a difficult period for Marvel. In 1996, Marvel decided to file for bankruptcy, and as a way for solvency, they sold off the rights to produce the live-action movies of their characters to different studios. For instance, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights for the X-Men, Daredevil, and Fantastic Four characters, Universal got the rights for Hulk, and Spider-Man rights were purchased by Sony.

Daredevil rights reverted back to Marvel in the 2010s, therefore, we have the Charlie Cox version in the MCU through the acclaimed Netflix series and Daredevil: Born Again. X-Men and Fantastic Four rights, on the other hand, remained with Fox until the studio was purchased by Disney in 2019. This is why the MCU can use the mutants and Fantastic Four now.

However, there still are some characters that Marvel Studios, unlike DC, can't use according to their wish. Spider-Man and Hulk are examples of the characters whose rights are still stuck with a different company. There is a reason why we haven't had a solo Hulk movie since 2008.

While it is unclear, the film rights for Kingpin are probably with Sony because he is also a Spider-Man villain.

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Are you disappointed that Fisk can't appear in a movie ever again? If so, we still have Daredevil: Born Again and its upcoming seasons, where we can see him go up against The Man Without Fear and The Punisher.

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