Daredevil’s Vincent D’Onofrio Hints Marvels’ Biggest Issue With Kingpin’s Character Rights

It doesn’t seem like the iconic Marvel villain Kingpin (played by Vincent D’Onofrio) will face off against Tom Holland’s Spider-Man anytime soon in the MCU. While Tom Holland is going digital, voicing Spider-Man in the upcoming animated Disney+ series Spider-Man: Freshman Year, Vincent D’Onofrio cannot join him as the rights to Kingpin are currently in a state of limbo between Marvel Studios and Sony, reports the actor.

Vincent D’Onofrio appeared at Fan Expo Boston 2024, ahead of his reprisal of the iconic role in the upcoming Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again, and was asked whether he might voice Kingpin in the new Spider-Man animated series. While D’Onofrio seemed excited by the prospect, the actor revealed the layers of corporate barriers preventing him from doing so. D’Onofrio said:

“I’m going to transparently say this: You know the whole Marvel-Sony thing, right? So there are characters — Marvel characters invented by Marvel, written by Marvel — that are caught in between Marvel and Sony. And so it takes a long time for them to figure out who is doing what. I just never really know where [Kingpin can show up]. My character is in that kind of situation, unlike Charlie’s. So I don’t know, it’s part of the deal when it comes to playing Kingpin.”

Fans are currently unsure whether D’Onofrio is being completely frank, and confirming that he won’t be appearing in the series, or if he’s trying to lead fans away from the scent to avoid ruining any surprises. D’Onofrio’s denial of any voice role in the series is countered by the actor having the new animated project among his upcoming acting credits on IMDb (however, this is something that can be changed at any time).

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While Marvel Studios is currently the superhero entertainment company responsible for one of the most profitable cinematic franchises in movie history, it hasn’t always been the case. On the verge of bankruptcy, Marvel sold the rights to many of their beloved comic book characters, including Spider-Man and his affiliated villains, to Sony in 1999. Despite Spider-Man having been in the MCU for some years now, Disney still haven’t completely bought back the rights. As a result, Sony has authoritative control over the character, and can decide which movies he, and his villains (including Kingpin), can and can’t be used in.

Spider-Man and Kingpin Will Return to the MCU

While Vincent D’Onofrio won’t (at least for now) be voicing an animated version of Kingpin in Disney+’s new Spider-Man show, D’Onofrio has already returned to play the character in live-action in the MCU. Kingpin has become something of a staple for Marvel television. First appearing in Daredevil, which originally streamed on Netflix, Kingpin has since appeared in numerous MCU shows on Disney+, most recently in Echo. Kingpin’s next MCU appearance is alongside Charlie Cox’s Daredevil once again in Daredevil: Born Again – which features numerous actors from the character’s time under the Netflix banner.

As for Spider-Man, as well as having his own animated series, Tom Holland will also be reprising the role in a fourth solo-outing – making him only the second MCU character to receive four standalone movies, behind Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. Holland’s Spider-Man is also expected to appear in the next Avengers film, titled Avengers: Secret Wars.