One of the most memorable moments from Hawkeye not only could have come sooner, but also could have been portrayed differently, as a deleted scene suggests Kingpin's debut might have originally been intended for an earlier episode.
Over a dozen deleted scenes from Hawkeye were added to Disney+ Hotstar, with one scene in particular showing the appearance of Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk/Kingpin several episodes before his pictured cameo in the penultimate episode and full debut in the finale. The deleted scene comes from Episode 3, "Echoes," where Kingpin appears as young Maya Lopez's uncle during a flashback, according to screenshots shared to the r/MarvelStudios subreddit. The deleted scene apparently follows Kingpin walking in on one of Maya's karate lessons and telling her that her father is busy, but then promises to take her out for ice cream before they return home. In the final cut of "Echoes," however, Kingpin's bulky, sharply dressed figure is seen only from the waist down and introduced merely as Maya's mysterious uncle.
Had Kingpin made an earlier debut in Hawkeye, audiences might've been able to learn more about the infamous crime boss's relationship with his adoptive daughter Maya, aka Echo. Although such additional backstory might have made the two's confrontation at the end of Hawkeye's Season 1 finale more impactful, saving Kingpin's debut until the sixth and final episode allowed the anticipation of his potential appearance to build until the Internet-breaking moment was teased at the end of Episode 5, "Ronin."
Yet, when D'Onofrio finally transitioned his Kingpin from Netflix's canceled Daredevil series and into the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper with Hawkeye, the actor was confronted by fans about his character's seemingly inconsistent strength between the two shows. While D'Onofrio admitted he understands how some fans may have been confused to see Kingpin appear much stronger in Hawkeye than he did in Daredevil, the actor assured fans, "It's the same canon."
D'Onofrio elaborated on the apparent differences some fans have spotted between his two portrayals of the character, saying some changes to Kingpin were, in fact, a result of bringing him into the MCU. "It's the same Kingpin," D'Onofrio said. "He obviously has more physical strength and can take a lot more physical abuse, but from a story point of view it was discussed that this is after the Blip, that he is the same guy that was in Daredevil, but he's lost some of his power and that my arc in Hawkeye is that I want my power back."
All six episodes of Hawkeye Season 1 are now available to stream only on Disney+. The show's deleted scenes will be viewable in full when Marvel Studios: Assembled -- The Making of Hawkeye hits the streaming service on Feb. 9.
Source: Reddit