Summary
Marvel Studios’ Echo, a spinoff of Hawkeye, will release on Disney+ as part of MCU Phase 5, and there have already been several key developments regarding this lesser-known character’s debut series. Alaqua Cox debuted as Echo in 2021’s Hawkeye on Disney+, introduced as a minor antagonist, seeking revenge on Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton for her father’s death during his time operating as Ronin, while also contending with her criminal “uncle”, Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin. Echo’s introduction in Hawkeye serves as a brief foundation for the character, which is set to deepen in her solo spinoff series.
Echo’s development falls in line with Marvel Studios’ suggestion that lesser-known and diverse Marvel Comics characters would be introduced on the Disney+ series’ – Maya Lopez fits well into this tonal shift. Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo is a deaf Native American woman who has been caught between heroism and criminality for most of her life, which offers a fresh perspective for the MCU timeline, similarly to how Ms. Marvel explored Kamala Khan’s identity as a female Muslim in America, or how Moon Knight dealt with Marc Spector’s dissociative identity disorder and Jewish roots. While perhaps one of Marvel Studios’ more understated projects, Echo is certainly a series to watch out for.
MCU’s Echo: Latest News
Echo was among most of the MCU’s Disney+ shows that saw massive delays in recent months, as Marvel Studios pushed back several projects to allow extra time in post-production, ensuring the quality of Phases 5 and 6 far surpasses that of Phase 4. Echo has still been gifted a 2024, as the entire series is set to release in January, marking a huge change in Marvel Studios’ release methods. Typically, the MCU’s Disney+ shows release an episode weekly, so Echo releasing all at once will allow viewers to binge-watch the series, though could also imply that Marvel Studios has concerns about Echo’s success.
Echo Was Officially Confirmed In 2021
Alaqua Cox was cast as Maya Lopez for Hawkeye in December 2020, and in March 2021, it was announced that Marvel Studios had put a spinoff series centered on her character into development. Echo was officially confirmed at Disney+ Day in November 2021, with Better Call Saul’s Marion Dayre serving as the series’ head writer. Navajo filmmaker Sydney Freeland and Australian filmmaker Catriona McKenzie have been confirmed as directors for the series, which is set to explore the consequences of Echo’s actions in Hawkeye, and reveal the character’s origin story, influenced heavily by Native American culture and traditions.
MCU’s Echo’s Release Date
Echo is currently set to release in January 2024, after a series of delays pushed back the date three times. Originally, Echo was slated for release in mid-2023, though Dayre stated in December 2022 that the series would likely release later than that. After major delays to most of Marvel Studios’ Disney+ shows, Echo was given a release date of November 29, 2023, which was then moved to the current January 2024 date, potentially as a result of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes delaying the production of many upcoming projects.
Echo will be the first MCU series to release in its entirety, whereas previous shows released episodes weekly. Echo will also be the fourth Disney+ series releasing as part of the MCU’s Phase 5 following June 2023’s Secret Invasion, October 2023’s Loki season 2, and December 2023’s What If…? season 2.
Who Is In Marvel Studios’ Echo?
Hawkeye marked Alaqua Cox’s acting debut, so her return to helm her own solo spinoff series is incredibly exciting. Echo’s cast consists of several Native American and Indigenous Canadian actors, including Devery Jacobs, Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Cody Lightning, and Graham Greene, while Zahn McClarnon will also reprise his role from Hawkeye as William Lopez, Maya’s father and the former leader of the Tracksuit Mafia. It’s likely that McClarnon will only be featured during flashback sequences, as William Lopez was killed during the Blip by Clint Barton while he was operating as the vigilante Ronin, who was in turn tipped-off by Wilson Fisk himself, a.k.a. Kingpin.
Vincent D’Onofrio is set to return as Kingpin in Echo, despite his fate being left uncertain after he was shot by Maya Lopez in Hawkeye. Following previous appearances in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Charlie Cox will also be reprising his role of Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, for Echo, meaning the show could establish Daredevil and Kingpin’s rivalry in the MCU ahead of their next appearance together in Daredevil: Born Again. Murdock is rumored to be searching for a missing Jessica Jones in Echo, so it’s possible that Krysten Ritter could reprise her role from Netflix’s Jessica Jones, though this has yet to be confirmed.
MCU’s Echo Story Details
By the end of Hawkeye, Maya Lopez learned that Kingpin was responsible for her father’s death, leaving her with nobody left to trust by the end of the series. This prompts her to return home to Oklahoma, where she finds herself reconnecting with her Native American roots and embracing her family and community, setting up the plot of Echo. The official Echo plot synopsis states that “Marvel Studios presents “Echo” in which Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) struggles to reconnect with her Native American roots while balancing aspirations tied to a life of crime as successor to the brutal legacy of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) aka Kingpin. In the first episode we are introduced to Maya Lopez and her struggles.” Given this description, the series is seemingly also set to explore Lopez’s origin story, so it’s expected that parts of the story will be told through flashbacks to Lopez’s childhood which explore her training to fight, growing a bond with Kingpin, and coming to terms with her deafness.
It’s undeniable that Charlie Cox’s appearance as Daredevil in Echo is intended to draw a wider audience to the smaller-scale series, but this plays perfectly into the narrative, too. In Marvel Comics, Echo is often depicted as a supporting character to Daredevil, and the pair form a fast connection, so it makes sense for him to be included in her debut series. Maya Lopez has already been seen operating in the criminal underworld of New York City, so Echo could set up an important partnership for the future of the MCU’s street-level stories. This would allow the character represent an intriguing element at the center of the ongoing conflict between Daredevil and Kingpin.
Who Is Echo? The MCU’s Deaf Superhero Explained
Maya Lopez was first introduced in Marvel Comics’ 1999 run of Daredevil #9, depicted as a supporting character to Daredevil, which could play an important role in her MCU journey. Trained in martial arts, the MCU’s Maya Lopez is a deaf Native American woman who wears a prosthetic leg. Lopez’s photographic reflexes allow her to perfectly mimic her opponents’ movements in much the same way as the MCU’s Antonia Dreykov, a.k.a. Taskmaster. Movement is her strong suit, as she is an acclaimed dancer, Olympic-level athlete, and sharp-shooter, so much so that she was revealed to be the mysterious Ronin in Marvel Comics’ 2005 run of The New Avengers #11.
This Ronin connection was what made her the perfect fit for Hawkeye on Disney+, even though she hasn’t been revealed to be a version of Ronin in the MCU. That’s not to say that Clint Barton couldn’t pass the Ronin torch on to Maya Lopez in the MCU’s future, though it seems that, for now, Lopez will be focusing on building a connection with Matt Murdock. It’s unclear how pivotal Maya Lopez will be to the MCU’s future street-level stories, though it seems as though Marvel Studios has been very impressed with Alaqua Cox’s performance in Hawkeye and Echo, so she could have a very bright future in the MCU.
