Vincent D'Onofrio: Wilson Fisk's Movie Absence Due to Rights Issues

It appears that fans of the menacing Wilson Fisk, portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio in the Marvel series, might have to temper their expectations for seeing the character on the big screen. In a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, D’Onofrio shared some disappointing news about the character's future in film.

"The only thing I know is not positive," D’Onofrio revealed. "It's a very hard thing to do, for Marvel to use my character. It's a very hard thing to do, because of ownership and stuff." He elaborated that due to complex rights issues, Wilson Fisk is restricted to television appearances only, dashing hopes for a standalone movie or appearances in major Marvel Cinematic Universe films such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. This limitation might also affect any potential Daredevil movie featuring Charlie Cox, where fans would expect to see D’Onofrio reprise his role as the iconic villain.

D’Onofrio first brought Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin, to life in the 2015 Netflix series Marvel’s Daredevil. The show ran for three seasons, concluding in 2018 with nearly 40 episodes. His performance has been widely acclaimed, and D’Onofrio has put considerable thought into how he wants Fisk to be perceived. In a recent interview with IGN, he discussed the influences behind his portrayal, drawing inspiration from the likes of Harrison Ford and Gary Cooper.

"Anytime they were in a fight, or they were holding a gun, they looked nervous," D’Onofrio explained, highlighting how these actors brought a sense of humility to their action scenes. "They carried their own humility into the action scenes with them. And I always thought that that was the way to go. That made it look real to me. Gary Cooper in Sergeant York, when he takes aim, when he becomes the sniper, it's the humility in his eyes that you see. It's amazing. I think that helps action stuff a lot. We're all very conscious of that."

Currently, fans can catch D’Onofrio in Daredevil: Born Again, which is airing weekly on Disney+ and will conclude its first season on April 15, 2025.