Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin can’t be recast, says Daredevil showrunner

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Former Daredevil showrunner, Steven DeKnight, gave cast member Vincent D'Onofrio the highest praise on social media. D'Onofrio played Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin on Daredevil and DeKnight, who severed as series showrunner during season one, says it would be "impossible" to replace D'Onofrio as the iconic Marvel villain.

Due to a recent fan push to #SaveDaredevil since Marvel now has the rights back from Netflix, many fans have been going back and praising aspects of the show. D'Onofrio's portrayal of Kingpin has been getting a lot of praise from fans and one fan, in particular, begged the entertainment gods to bring back the show and not recast Wilson Fisk. DeKnight took the liberty to respond to the fan and he compared recasting D'Onofrio to recasting Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Evans as Iron Man and Captain America, respectively. Simply put, he doesn't think it can be done. You can check out the Twitter exchange below!

Daredevil followed Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer by day and a vigilante of Hell's Kitchen, New York by night. D'Oonfrio played Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin, a notorious villain from the comics who is the main threat of season one and season three of the Netflix series, although he appears across all three seasons. D'Onofrio's portrayal of the character was highly regarded by fans and critics alike with many people thinking he is the definitive live-action version of the character. I can see why DeKnight feels he's irreplaceable because D'Oonfrio really made the part his own.

The Kingpin first appeared in Marvel comics in 1967, where he was first introduced as a Spider-Man villain. The character continued to appear in Spider-Man stories but he also became the enemy for several New York City-based heroes. This is when he became best-known as the arch-nemesis to Daredevil and this was portrayed on the Netflix series. On the big screen, the character was previously played by the late Michael Clarke Duncan in 2003's Daredevil and Liev Schreiber lent his vocal talents to an animated version of the character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Since the show ended its run, D'Oonfrio has expressed interest in returning to the role. There have been a lot of rumors about bringing back some of the Netflix characters into the MCU now that Marvel has regained the rights and D'Oonfrio's Kingpin is one that is high on that list. There have been rumors about Cox's Daredevil, Jon Bernthal's Punisher, Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones, and D'Oonfrio's Kingpin being reintroduced into the MCU in some capacity but they remain rumors at this point. As a fan, I hope these rumors gain traction because I would love to see all of these people return.

Do YOU think anyone else could play Kingpin?