Disney+ has finally released the first official trailer for Echo, and it was worth the wait. Though the show has been hit with a few delays, the Hawkeye spinoff series is quickly becoming a reality.
During the 2021 holiday season, the Marvel Cinematic Universe gave us a special treat with the Christmas-themed Hawkeye series. The series follows Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), who teams up with Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) to confront his past as the Ronin and make it home for Christmas. Hawkeye brought back several fan-favorite characters, including Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova.
However, one new MCU character in particular stole the show—Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez (a.k.a. Echo). Lopez made her live-action debut in Hawkeye as the deaf leader of the Tracksuit Mafia. In the series, she attempts to hunt down Hawkeye, who killed her father during his stint as Ronin. Her fighting skills are impeccable, as she has the ability to copy or echo her opponents’ every move. When she learns the truth—that her adoptive uncle, Kingpin, orchestrated her father’s death by tipping off Ronin—she finds Kingpin and shoots him.
In November 2021, it was announced that an Echo spinoff series was in development and would see Cox’s return as Lopez. The series was met with much excitement, as Echo is quite a monumental hero. In both the comics and MCU, she is one of the very few Indigenous or deaf heroes. Cox, who has a prosthetic leg, is also representative of the amputee community. Here’s everything we know about Echo so far.
Disney+ drops Echo‘s trailer and confirms release date
Marvel dropped the official trailer for Echo on November 3, 2023, and finally confirmed its release date. The series will premiere on January 10, 2024, with the entire series dropping on Disney+ and Hulu on that date. The release date confirmation comes after numerous delays, and while it’s disappointing that it won’t arrive in 2023 after all, at least it will premiere at the very beginning of the new year.
While the trailer for Echo was shown exclusively at the D23 Expo on September 10, 2022, this is the first time the rest of the world is finally seeing it. In addition to confirming that Echo will be the first MCU original series to be rated TV-MA, it gives an incredible first look at the series. It’s very reminiscent of the former Netflix Marvel series like Daredevil and Jessica Jones, as it teases a darker, grittier, and more violent superhero series.
The trailer promises the series will delve into Echo’s complicated relationship with Kingpin as his adoptive daughter, as well as her Indigenous heritage. It also confirms that Kingpin is still very much alive despite seemingly being killed in Hawkeye. Meanwhile, he is forcing Echo to acknowledge her rage and her likeness to him. The trailer bodes well for Echo with teases of a dark and deep premise and a TV-MA rating that will allow Cox and D’Onofrio to go all out.
Who stars in Echo?
It has been confirmed, of course, that Cox will be returning as the titular character in Echo. The actress actually made her acting debut in Hawkeye. Immediately after her first acting gig, she was quickly chosen to head her own show. If she blew us away with her first acting role as a supporting character in Hawkeye, then we can’t even imagine what she will do with her own series. Starring opposite Cox is D’Onofrio, reprising his iconic role as Kingpin. Meanwhile, Kingpin will be reunited with his archnemesis Daredevil in Echo, as Charlie Cox is slated to reprise his role as Matt Murdock for the series.
Meanwhile, Hawkeye‘s Zahn McClarnon is confirmed to be returning in Echo as Echo’s father, William Lopez, potentially in Echo’s memories or flashbacks. Reservation Dogs star Devery Jacobs has joined the cast as a character named Julie. No details are known about her character, but it’s believed she’ll be one of the leads. The show has also confirmed appearances from Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Graham Greene, and Cody Lightning, though no details about their roles have been officially revealed.
What is Echo about?
The official synopsis for Echo 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.
It seems that Echo is going to explore Maya in a wholly different environment than Hawkeye. Likely, it is going to be quite an emotional journey for Maya as she goes from NY back to her roots. All she has really known her whole life is organized crime, violence, and loss. If she wants to leave the life of crime behind and become a true hero, she will have to reconcile with her past. While the trailer suggests she does have a family and community to aid her, it also confirms that breaking free from Kingpin’s shadow will not be an easy feat.
(featured image: Disney+)
