Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel producer Brad Winderbaum has revealed that Wilson Fisk is the new Thanos-esque threat of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – at least on a “street level.”
Ahead of the release of Echo, Winderbaum was interviewed by Screen Rant about the importance of Wilson Fisk’s return in the show. The infamous mobster – who will once again be played by Vincent D’Onofrio as in Hawkeye and Daredevil – will play a crucial role in the new series, with the Tracksuit Mafia chasing Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) on his behalf.
While Winderbaum wouldn’t reveal too much about Fisk’s storyline in the show, he emphasized that it’ll form a “crucial” chapter in the character’s life.
“[It] sets the stage in some remarkable ways for what’s coming next,” he added.
In doing so, he also confirmed that Fisk (who’s more commonly known as Kingpin) can be seen as the Thanos of Marvel’s “street-level” superheroes in New York – a lineup that’s typically thought to include Daredevil, Punisher, Jessica Jones, and (sometimes) Spider-Man.
Echo marks the first entry in Marvel Spotlight, a new production banner covering all the content that don’t require thorough prior knowledge of the MCU to understand (something that’s been a common complaint for many fans recently). Upon the announcement, Winderbaum explained that it would “give [Marvel] a platform to bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, [focus] on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity.”
The creation of Marvel Spotlight led some fans to question how, if at all, Echo will bear continuity with other Spotlight projects. However, if Fisk is indeed the new “Thanos” of these street-level superheroes, he may be the villain that ties the characters featured in these series together, similar to how the threat of Thanos united the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and other superheroes in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Regardless, Wilson Fisk presents a new kind of danger to the MCU. While past installments have focused on world-ending, cataclysmic events, the crime boss poses a much more localized risk than Thanos – which, in some ways, can be even more sinister. It makes for a refreshing change, and could even help shape a whole new era for the Marvel universe.
Would you like to see Wilson Fisk play a bigger part in the MCU? Let us know in the comments!