As speculation mounts that Daredevil star Charlie Cox may appear again on the big screen, the actor behind his archrival has given a disappointing Avengers: Doomsday update.
Speaking to GQ, Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk actor Vincent D’Onofrio confirmed he wouldn’t be making an appearance in Marvel’s next big team-up movie, due to the ongoing rights issues surrounding his character between Marvel and Sony.
Kingpin is currently being used by Sony in its animated Spider-Verse films, and it doesn’t sound like Marvel could feature the villain even if it wanted to. D’Onofrio has spoken in the past about the legal Marvel/Sony legal situation, which is also stopping him meeting the MCU’s live-action Spidey played by Tom Holland.
“Right now, they don’t have the rights,” D’Onofrio said, when asked about a Doomsday appearance. “They have a bit more rights than they did a couple of years ago, but it’s tough right now. They have the rights to a lot of characters from the Spider-Man series but they don’t have mine, not completely. So I think that’s holding them back a bit. But I hope to be able to do it, we’ll see.
“I hope Kingpin is in the movies someday,” he said. “We’ll see, I don’t know. Maybe it will be me, maybe it won’t. Whatever movie Kingpin might appear in, it won’t be Avengers: Doomsday.”
Warning! Spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 follow:
Earlier this week, images featuring Charlie Cox taken from the set of Daredevil: Born Again season three revealed the character in prison uniform — seemingly spoiling the outcome of this still-ongoing season two, but also dropping a huge hint at a Spider-Man: Brand New Day cameo.
Set photos, as well as the first Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer, have revealed that the Tom Holland movie will feature a prison breakout sequence. This has led fans to believe that Marvel will not miss out on the opportunity to have Cox appear, however briefly, within that same prison. After all, the character popped up already in Spider-Man: No Way Home, while Daredevil regular Frank Castle/AKA The Punisher is set to play a major role in this latest movie.
Could Spidey break out Daredevil to help fight The Hand — the group of ninja assassins that Daredevil himself fought in the Netflix Daredevil series, as well as in The Defenders? Or perhaps we see Cox just briefly, left behind bars, to explain why he’s not taking part in the fight?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters on July 31. Avengers: Doomsday opens on December 18.
Image credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
