Everything We Know So Far about Marvel’s ‘Echo’
Trend Indexing: The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next big superhero is also superhuman. She can’t shoot laser beams from her eyes, produce sonic booms with her mind, or chase villains across the multiverse. Instead, the hero is Maya Lopez/Echo, a Native American woman who rises to become boss of the New York street gang Tracksuit Mafia under the tutelage of crime lord Kingpin — all while being deaf and a prosthetic-wearing leg amputee. Echo’s superpower? The human ability to adapt. Maya copes with her deafness by sharpening her observational skills — so much that she can watch a martial arts move and mimic it instantly, making her a lethal physical combatant.
While most superheroes boast arsenals of high-tech weapons, Maya’s skills are refreshingly analog. She beats Clint Barton in hand-to-hand combat in the Disney+ series Hawkeye, where Echo is first introduced. Noticing that the Avenger relies on a hearing aid for his hearing loss, Maya tells him: “You rely too much on technology. You might find you’re better off without it.” The scene ends with Maya crushing Hawkeye’s hearing aid under her boots. Behind Maya Lopez’s fierce facade, she is crushingly human, consumed by grief after her father’s violent death, and obsessed with a vengeance. The Disney+ series is sure to show us a side of the MCU we’ve rarely seen up to this point. As we discover more of the street-level heroes, Echo will be an introduction to a new side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here is everything we know about Echo.
What Is ‘Echo’ About?
Echo
Streaming exclusively on Disney, the origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez, whose ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown. She must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community if she ever hopes to move forward.
Cast Alaqua Cox , Chaske Spencer
Main Genre Drama
Seasons 1
Studio Marvel Studios
Franchise Marvel Cinematic Universe
Main Characters Maya Lopez
Producer Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Stephen Broussard, Richie Palmer, Marion Dayre, Jason Gavin, Amy Rardin, Sydney Freeland, Christina King and Jennifer Booth
Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe
Marvel’s official synopsis reads:
Streaming exclusively on Disney, the origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez, whose ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown. She must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community if she ever hopes to move forward.
Director Sydney Freeland spoke on their approach to the series, saying:
The story dictated our approach. Coming off Hawkeye, Maya is a villain, so tonally, we wanted to lean into that. I don’t know if I can say this, but I love the Netflix Daredevil. It’s great. We also very adamantly wanted to show that these people in our show bleed, they die, they get killed, and there are real consequences. It’s not the fate of the universe at stake because once you go that broad, you can lose sight a little bit. And so, that dictated the tone.
Watch the Trailer for ‘Echo’
The first trailer for Echo was released on November 3, 2023, and features the return of Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), who is wearing an eyepatch. Viewers of the Hawkeye series would recall Maya (Alaqua Cox) shooting Kingpin offscreen during the final episode after learning that Kingpin had tricked Hawkeye into killing her father. The series will dive deeper into Maya and Fisk’s relationship, showing us the character’s origin for the very first time.
When And Where Will ‘Echo’ Be Released?
Image via Disney+
Echo was originally set to premiere on Disney+ on November 29, 2023. However, it will now premiere on January 9, 2024, likely due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Disney has also revealed that all six episodes will hit both Disney+ and Hulu simultaneously. Echo will not only be the first Disney+ series to embrace the binge model pioneered by Netflix but also their first series with a TV-MA rating. It’s also been announced that Echo will be the first project released under the Marvel Spotlight banner, which has been created for shows that exist within the MCU continuity but focus more on gritty, realistic, and character-driven stories, as opposed to the cosmic and fantastical side explored in the rest of the shared universe.
Who Are the Cast of ‘Echo’?
Alaqua Cox, who grew up on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin, plays Maya Lopez/Echo in the Hawkeye spin-off series. As a deaf Native American and leg amputee who has never acted before (except for a stint in a high school play), her breakthrough casting and unforgettable performance in Hawkeye were widely applauded, igniting enthusiasm for her trailblazing lead role in the Echo series. Charlie Cox returns as the blind lawyer/superhero Matt Murdock/Daredevil, who debuted in Netflix’s hugely popular three-season series and was last seen in cameos in MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Daredevil and Echo have a romantic relationship in Marvel Comics.
Vincent D’Onofrio reprises his role as crime lord Wilson Fisk/Kingpin — the surrogate uncle of Maya whom she shoots in the final moments of Hawkeye after she discovers that he caused her father’s death. There’s plenty of bad blood between Kingpin and his former protégé, a grudge match that will follow Maya from New York to her indigenous roots in Oklahoma. Zahn McClarnon (Reservation Dogs) also reprises his role from Hawkeye as William Lopez, the dearly beloved father of Maya, who is also a Kingpin associate and former leader of the Tracksuit Mafia. When a young Maya witnesses Lopez’s death at the hands of Ronin (Hawkeye’s past alter-ego), she becomes obsessed with revenge, only to find out that her “uncle” Fisk ordered the kill. Reservation Dogs star and writer Devery Jacobs plays Julie, a member of Maya’s indigenous family and community. Jacobs is memorable as Elora Danan Postoak in the critically acclaimed Reservation Dogs, which was created by Sterlin Harjo and MCU veteran Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love & Thunder).
Rounding out the cast are Chaske Spencer (Wild Indian, The English), who played Jace Montero in Netflix’s Jessica Jones; Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon, Stumptown), a Canadian actor of Cree and Métis heritage; Cody Lightning (Smoke Signals) also of Cree heritage; Graham Greene, the Academy Award-nominated indigenous Canadian actor known for his roles in Dances With Wolves and The Green Mile.
Who Are the Creatives Behind ‘Echo’?
Image via Marvel Studios
The series is directed by Sydney Freeland (Reservation Dogs) and Catriona McKenzie (The Walking Dead). Executive producers include Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Stephen Broussard, Richie Palmer, Marion Dayre, and Jason Gavin. Amy Rardin, Sydney Freeland, Christina King, and Jennifer Booth are co-executive producers. When we spoke to Executive producer Stephen Broussard, he described the series as:
I don’t want to say too much because there’s not a whole lot out there in the world, but it feels very grounded, it feels very spiritual in ways that feel fresh for us. Alaqua as the lead is incredibly compelling. I’m sort of hard-pressed to think of something that it feels like outside in the broader realm of the MCU, let alone within what we’ve done here. So stay tuned on that cool stuff.
