Hawkeye producers Trinh Tran and Brad Winderbaum revealed it was Kevin Feige’s idea to include Kingpin in the series.
Vincent D’Onofrio’s return as Kingpin in Hawkeye was one of the biggest moments in any MCU show to date. On the latest installment of Marvel Studios’ Assembled, producer Trinh Tran shared that Kevin Feige was the one who brought up the idea of bringing D’Onofrio back in the role:
“Kevin threw out the idea that ‘What if this could be Kingpin?’ And I think all of our jaws just kind of dropping our Zoom meetings, and we’re kinda like, ‘Wait, you’re joking, right? This can’t be serious. Are you serious? This is… You really think that there’s a chance that we can actually get Vincent D’Onofrio, who plays Kingpin in Daredevil in the series, as a cameo for a couple of scenes? Like, he is our big boss?’ And Kevin made a call to Vincent.”
Hawkeye producer Michael Winderbaum was also on the Zoom call with Kevin Feige and Trinh Tran, and he explained why Kingpin was the perfect choice to be the leader of the Tracksuit Mafia:
“We were all on a call, me and Kevin and Trinh, and we were talking about the Tracksuit Mafia and the criminal organization behind this story. We needed a really big threat, like something that, you know, would make Eleanor Bishop shake in her boots and Hawkeye, you know, get a little bit afraid. It had to be someone powerful.”
Vincent D’Onorio then recalled the quick response he had to Kevin Feige’s offer to return for Hawkeye as Kingpin:
“He said ‘I want to bring you into the MCU’ and I’m not gonna say no to that. That’s pretty awesome.”
Here is the synopsis for Hawkeye:
Former Avenger Clint Barton has a seemingly simple mission: get back to his family for Christmas. Possible? Maybe with the help of Kate Bishop, a 22-year-old archer with dreams of becoming a Super Hero. The two are forced to work together when a presence from Barton’s past threatens to derail far more than the festive spirit.
Hawkeye stars Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Tony Dalton, Fra Free, Brian d’Arcy James, Aleks Paunovic, Piotr Adamczyk, Linda Cardellini, Simon Callow, Vera Farmiga, Alaqua Cox, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin. Kevin Feige served as an executive producer on the series.
Hawkeye is available to stream on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding Vincent D’Onofrio’s future in the MCU as Kingpin, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
