Yeah, even the directors of that 'Hawkeye' cameo were surprised

So, that happened. After Florence Pugh made a surprise appearance as Yelena Belova in the fourth episode of Hawkeye, the following episode in the limited Marvel series shocked viewers with another stunning reveal...

**SPOILER WARNING: There will be major spoilers for "Ronin," Episode 5 of Hawkeye. Enter at your own risk.**

...that the Big Bad behind it all was none other than Daredevil's mortal enemy Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, played by Vincent D’Onofrio. Well, apparently, the episode's directors were just as surprised as the audience was.

Speaking with Polygon about the latest episode, directors Bert & Bertie admitted that they didn't know that the episode would herald Kingpin's entry into the MCU until they were in production. To be fair, it wasn't a meticulously rehearsed or choreographed scene with the actor, but rather a brief shot of a blurry photograph.

“That was as exciting to us as it was to the fans, knowing what everyone else would feel,” Bertie told the outlet. “It’s like, ‘Oh my goodness, these worlds are now able to meld, and there’s this extra layer that can come into the the MCU that had previously been separate.’”

So, all that speculation over whether Netflix's Daredevil series is MCU canon, or any of the Marvel Netflix shows, for that matter, can be put to rest. Or ramp up even more. It's tough to say, actually. Let's not forget how the fine folks at Marvel Studios trolled us all with the casting of Evan Peters as Ralph in WandaVision, after all.

Speculation aside, Bertie said that they weren't instructed by the higher-ups at Marvel Studios to use the Daredevil series as a basis for designing the character's look. “There was never any kind of requirement or need to meld Daredevil and Hawkeye in any way,” she said. Instead, they just created Kingpin's look based on the character's larger-than-life reputation.

“So when Kingpin comes in, he’s massive, you know? He’s huge. As the story goes, he’s later in a more difficult place, but he comes in as his big self, with his big hands. In that picture, you see him in his iconic suit. So how to shoot him came from where the character is, rather than us trying to match our universe to anything in the past.”

Bert added that trying to make sure Hawkeye's aesthetic matches Daredevil's or the other way around was not an issue, explaining: “...we deal with the character story more," before adding: "Rather than dealing with the the universe they come from, they step into ours.”

With one episode left in the season, can we expect any more surprise crossover appearances? We've got less than a week to fine out. The final episode of Hawkeye streams on Disney+ this upcoming Wednesday, Dec. 22.