When the Netflix Marvel shows left their previous host for Disney+, fans began to wonder if we might get to see some of our Defenders in the larger world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’d seen both Vincent D’Onofrio in Hawkeye and Charlie Cox in No Way Home make appearances as their respective alter egos in the MCU, but there was no real news about the future for them.
Cox appeared alongside our boy from Queens in the blockbuster hit Spider-Man: No Way Home and D’Onofrio was taken to task by Kate Bishop and Maya Lopez in the Disney+ series Hawkeye. However, it seems as if we might get them in another New York-based show (which would make the most sense) with the upcoming Disney+ series Echo. The series will follow Maya Lopez/Echo, a deaf superhero with “photographic reflexes.”
As ComicBook.com reported, costumer Stacy Caballero, who worked on Echo according to her website, has an updated resume that includes her work with both Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox. While it seemed obvious that D’Onofrio would return for Echo given his connection to the character, this would be an interesting way to keep bringing the Netflix characters back into the fold.
Echo is set to focus on Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez who, in Hawkeye, shot Kingpin in an alley. But we didn’t see the dead body and if you know anything about Wilson Fisk, that means that he’s most definitely fine. So the news that he might be returning to her show isn’t shocking, but it does leave us very excited about the possibilities of how this could shake out.
Let’s break down why Echo would make the most sense as an entry point into the MCU for the Defenders.
Echo and Hell’s Kitchen
Maya Lopez has lived in New York City and been associated with Kingpin since she was a child. So having Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin as part of her story, even after Lopez seemingly killed him, is a plot point that could help bring the rest of the Netflix characters into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. We know we should temper our excitement: while much of the Disney+ era of Marvel is set in New York or areas close enough to it, that doesn’t mean we’re getting the return of our favorite shows like Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, or The Punisher right away, or those characters stopping by.
But establishing the new Disney+ shows in other areas of New York or with other heroes at least gives us the option to see our favorite characters sooner rather than later. There are already rumors that Jessica Jones could show up in She/Hulk and if that’s the case, then maybe Luke Cage would be with her and we can start to sprinkle them into the fold of the overarching MCU quickly.
With both Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk already having their moments in the MCU, it’d make sense to keep bringing them in as we add the rest of the Netflix world to whatever Disney+ series or movie the Marvel overlords see fit. Let’s return to the era of those on the ground NYC-based stories.
I hope that this speculation is true and I hope that Echo and Matt Murdock’s worlds cross when it comes to the return of Kingpin. But until there’s any kind of confirmation, we can just keep hoping for the day that we get an announcement that somehow Daredevil season 4 is heading our way.
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
