Echo is set to be the first Disney Plus series under the Marvel Spotlight banner, but where does that leave the show in the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe?
In 2023, Marvel announced that Echo would be released under its new “Marvel Spotlight” banner, which is meant for shows without direct connections to the larger continuity of the MCU. This seemingly allows shows to be bloodier, just like the Marvel series that premiered on Netflix. When asked about the show’s place in the universe during a recent press junket, producer Brad Winderbaum spoke on why stories like Echo are important to tell.
“That’s a great question. Marvel is such a big, you know, vast universe. The comics have been called, like, the greatest ongoing story that’s ever been written. Certainly, the longest. And there are so many corners to the universe that are still unexplored.”
“Even today. Maya [Lopez a.k.a. Echo] allowed us to see a corner of the MCU that hadn’t been seen before. And to me, that is the future of Marvel. It is being able to tell stories that are unexpected, operate on the fringe of what we’ve seen before, and are standalone, character-focused, and have a unique personality all their own.”
In truth, the idea of character-focused and standalone projects was what many fans expected Disney Plus shows to be in the first place. However, with projects like Loki serving as important cornerstones in the future of the MCU, it’s certainly nice to see that Marvel isn’t neglecting character-focused stories like Echo with the Marvel Spotlight banner.
Echo is set to debut early next year on Disney Plus, with every episode of the show being released at once. This makes it the first MCU project on Disney Plus to follow the Netflix binge model of releasing all of the episodes on the same day.
Alaqua Cox’s Hawkeye spinoff series will be the tenth overall original Marvel Studios series for Disney Plus. It’s also one of two live-action spin-offs from a previous series — the other being the WandaVision offshoot Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
Serving as executive producers on Echo are Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Stephen Broussard, Richie Palmer, Marion Dayre, and Jason Gavin, while Amy Rardin, Sydney Freeland, Christina King, and Jennifer Booth will serve as co-executive producers.
Be sure to continue following Heroic Hollywood for all the latest news on Alaqua Cox’s Hawkeye spinoff series Echo, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more original video content.