See Vincent D’Onofrio’s Deleted Hawkeye Scene Introduce Kingpin In A Completely Different Way
There was more Kingpin in Hawkeye than we got to see!
This article is more than 2 years old
Spoilers for Hawkeye ahead: One of the biggest and most welcome surprises from the Disney+ series Hawkeye was the reappearance of Vincent D’Onofrio as the villainous Kingpin. In the early episodes of the show, you get the briefest glimpse of him as the unnamed uncle of Echo. All you see is an imposing figure slightly out of focus and a fairly large hand. Many fans were speculating at this point that it was Kingpin due to his stature alone, but it wouldn’t be confirmed until the penultimate episode of the series. Now a deleted scene has been released that would have been our first proper reintroduction to the character. Check out the scene below:
The deleted scene depicts the full appearance of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin speaking with Vera Farmiga’s character about her new role in his criminal empire. Previously, he had been dealing with her husband but now that her husband is dead, he’s expecting her to pick up the slack. D’Onofrio’s performance is as chilling as ever, and you can sense how dangerous he is based on the uneasiness in Farmiga’s performance.
Though this would have been an interesting window into the business relationship between these two characters, we think it was a better move to hold off on the reveal. It definitely added to the shadowy presence of Kingpin throughout the series and made his grand appearance in the finale that much more impactful.
Hawkeye has been met with near-universal praise from audiences and critics. Though Echo and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin played major antagonists in the series, the show starred Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye and Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. The show also featured the return of Florence Pugh as Black Widow agent Yelena Belova. The popularity and reception of the show were enough to convince Disney to create a spin-off starring Alaqua Cox as Echo. At the end of Hawkeye, Echo seems to have dispatched her adoptive uncle, but since it happened off-screen, many fans are speculating that Kingpin will be making another return. Presumably in the upcoming spin-off.
Fans of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin will know that this was far from his first appearance as the character. The Netflix Marvel series Daredevil heavily featured him as a primary antagonist throughout most of the series. Overall, Daredevil has been praised as one of, if not the best Marvel Netflix show. Charlie Cox’s performance as Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Onofrio’s intimidating performance of Kingpin were big reasons the show was so well-received. And with a recent resurgence of interest in both of the characters, thanks to their recent reappearances in MCU properties, fans are holding out for a proper reboot.
Whether we see that reboot come to fruition or not remains to be seen. However, it’s unlikely that this is the last we’ll see of the characters from that beloved Netflix series. Even if Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin has met his untimely demise, Matt Murdock is still out there alive and kicking (literally). Plus, there’s always the chance for flashbacks in the Echo series.
