Vincent D'Onofrio: Wilson Fisk's Movie Rights Complicate Daredevil: Born Again

It turns out our favorite Hell's Kitchen villain, Wilson Fisk, is off-limits for the big screen — according to Daredevil: Born Again star Vincent D’Onofrio himself.

"The only thing I know is not positive," D’Onofrio explained to Josh Horowitz on the podcast Happy Sad Confused recently. "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 continued: “I’m only usable for television shows. Not even a one-off Wilson Fisk movie. It’s all caught up in rights and stuff. I don’t know when that would work out — or if it ever would work out at all.”

This revelation seemingly rules out D’Onofrio's portrayal of Fisk appearing in any Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, including the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. This development might also affect potential plans for a Charlie Cox Daredevil movie, where D’Onofrio's presence as the villain would be expected.

D’Onofrio first brought Fisk, New York City’s most powerful crimelord and future mayor also known as Kingpin, to life in Marvel’s Daredevil. The 2015 Netflix series ran for three seasons, concluding with nearly 40 episodes in 2018. D’Onofrio’s performance has been widely acclaimed by fans and critics, reflecting his deep consideration of how Fisk should be perceived, particularly through the influences he draws upon.

“Anytime they were in a fight, or they were holding a gun, they looked nervous,” D’Onofrio told IGN last month, reflecting on the everyman performances of actors like Harrison Ford that inspired his multifaceted villain.

“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.”

Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again is currently airing weekly on Disney+ and will conclude with its finale on April 15, 2025.