Warning: SPOILERS for Hawkeye episode 3.
Upcoming Hawkeye spinoff show Echo could be Marvel's way of essentially giving Kingpin his own Disney+ show. Maya Lopez aka Echo (Alaqua Cox) is the antagonist for episode 3 of Hawkeye, chasing Clint Barton and Kate Bishop around New York with the Tracksuit Mafia. She is however middle-management within the criminal organization, with her "uncle" being the true mastermind.
Hawkeye episode 3, "Echoes," opens with a flashback to Echo's childhood. After Maya’s karate class, the hand of her "uncle" is seen affectionately pinching her cheek, with him chuckling. The mysterious man’s face isn’t seen, but his laugh sounds suspiciously like Vincent D'Onofrio, who played Wilson Fisk - aka Kingpin - in the Netflix show, Daredevil. Despite critical acclaim, Daredevil was canceled after 3 seasons in anticipation of Disney setting up its own series of MCU shows on rival streaming service Disney+. Since then, the Netflix Marvel shows have been largely annexed from the main MCU continuity. Notwithstanding this, fans have been eager to see this reserved in the wake of the impending Multiverse storyline. Daredevil himself (Charlie Cox) continues to be rumored to return in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Vincent D'Onofrio's portrayal of the Kingpin in Daredevil was widely lauded, and he's been heavily rumored to be part of the Hawkeye show as the man pulling the strings. He's a major villain for several of the Marvel heroes around New York, especially Spider-Man and Daredevil. However, Maya Lopez/Echo has already established herself as an antagonist against Hawkeye and Kate Bishop. The show also still has to bring in Yelena Belova/Black Widow, with her seeking revenge against Clint for the death of Natalia Romanoff. There is also the small matter of Kate's murderous stepfather-to-be, Jack Duquesne. That's a lot of antagonists for the show to juggle. Given this, there is likely only room for a tease of Kingpin, possibly as a post-credit scene. This would then set up his actual return to the MCU in the spinoff show, Echo. Marvel seems to confirm this with the tease in Hawkeye episode 3.
In the Marvel comics, Echo's dad was murdered on Kingpin's orders, but Wilson Fisk then adopted Maya and trained her to become a skilled fighter. While her origin is slightly different in Hawkeye, it still intrinsically connects Echo to Kingpin. His inclusion in the Disney+ show would be both logical and necessary in order to stay true to the character's literary roots. The announcement of Echo receiving her own Disney+ show also came prior to the release of Hawkeye. Unlike other franchises such as the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Kevin Fiege has mapped out the overall story of the MCU years in advance. Echo will no doubt play a major part in proceedings going forward, but the announcement also signals a vote of confidence that they've got something big to offer with the Disney+ show. The re-introduction of Kingpin to the MCU would be a huge deal for many fans of Netflix's Daredevil, going a long way to legitimizing the ill-fated series.
Phase four of the MCU is expanding rapidly, giving more obscure characters the chance for their own Disney+ show, and Echo's spinoff from Hawkeye is to be lauded from a diversity/representation perspective. Notwithstanding this, there are many more well-known Marvel characters, or even established MCU characters, that haven't yet had their shot at center stage. It, therefore, seems likely that one of the reasons for the show to exist would be to facilitate the return of Kingpin to the MCU. After all, he's too big a Marvel character to be left on a rival studio’s canceled show.
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