Marvel’s ‘Echo’ Series Might Be Delayed
During the 2021 holiday season, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) 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) when his past as Ronin comes back to haunt him, all while trying to make it home in time 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 perfectly 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 of 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, very few Indigenous and deaf heroes. Cox, who has a prosthetic leg, is also representative of the amputee community. Echo is sure to be a very special show.
Echo release date
A release date has not been set for Echo yet. It was initially believed the series might drop sometime in mid-2023. However, the show got a disappointing update in December of 2022, when head writer Marion Dayre revealed the show wouldn’t be released for another year. Recently, it was marked as “Coming Soon” on Disney+, along with several other Marvel Disney+ original series. The label “Coming Soon,” as opposed to a release date or release window, tends to mean that the titles have been delayed or that Disney is reevaluating their release date. As of now, viewers aren’t even sure when the next Disney+ Marvel series will release, and it’s starting to look like Echo may be one of the shows pushed in 2024 or later.
Prior to the “Coming Soon” update, rumors suggested that Cox may have unveiled a more specific release window. Early on February 24, Cox posted a cryptic Tweet revealing she was impatient for October to arrive.
Of course, with Echo being her biggest known project on the horizon, many began to question if the show’s release is the big October event Cox is waiting for. When questioned if Echo‘s release date is in October, Cox only responded with a few emojis showing her lips were sealed.
While it’s just a rumor, an October 2023 release date would be close to the delayed release date Dayre had suggested back in December. However, an official release date for Echo remains unconfirmed.
Echo‘s confirmed cast and characters
It has been confirmed, of course, that Cox will be returning as 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, Echo. If she blew us away with her first acting role as a supporting character in Hawkeye, then we can’t even imagine what she’s going to do with her own show.
While releasing Echo casting updates, Marvel revealed Zahn McClarnon is confirmed to be returning as Maya’s father, William Lopez. He appears in a flashback, where it is revealed that the Tracksuit Mafia landed on the radar of Ronin, who was looking to take out organized crime. As a result, Lopez was killed by Ronin and his death was witnessed by Maya, who vowed to avenge him. It is clear that Maya had a deep bond with her father and it seems he’ll be appearing in more of her memories and flashbacks as she explores her own identity, as well as her father’s.
Marvel also confirmed that Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Devery Jacobs, Cody Lightning, and Graham Greene have been cast in Echo in undisclosed roles. Given that many of the show’s stars are established Native American and Indigenous actors, we’ll likely see Echo coming back to her Indigenous roots. Also, one of these actors could potentially be portraying Chief. In the comics, Chief was a close friend of Echo’s father, who guided Echo on her journey to finding peace.
Additionally, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio have been confirmed to be appearing in Echo, reprising their roles as Matt Murdock (a.k.a. Daredevil) and Wilson Fisk (a.k.a. Kingpin), respectively. The two have been heavily rumored to be appearing in the series since it was first announced. They were officially confirmed to have been cast during the D23 Expo when the trailer for Echo was shown.
Echo‘s plot
Marvel released the premise of Echo, which 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 is organized crime, violence, and loss. If she wants to leave the life of crime behind and become a true hero, she will have reconcile with her past. Fortunately, it seems she does have family and a community who will help her find her way in Echo.
First-look image of Echo
On May 17, 2022, Marvel Studios released a first-look image of Echo. In the photo, we see Cox as Echo, sitting on the back of a forklift. Check out the image below:
The photo doesn’t tell us a lot about Echo, but it might be pretty sparse for a reason. For now, we don’t know if there will be a villain or other appearances from MCU characters. All we know is that this is Maya’s journey. She’s leaving New York behind and going to find herself with the help of community and family. This is reflected in the first-look image that captures her isolated travel and contemplation. While we are excited for Daredevil and Kingpin’s appearance, this is ultimately going to be Maya’s ride.
Echo trailer
The trailer for Echo was shown exclusively at the D23 Expo on September 10, 2022. It has not yet been released to the public. As reported by Variety, the trailer mainly focused on its titular hero, played by Cox. The trailer offered some peeks at the Indigenous cast, as well as Cox’s fighting skills. However, the biggest reveal came at the end, when Kingpin (D’Onofrio) entered with an eyepatch, officially confirming that he is still alive and will be returning in Echo. This is quite big news after the rather ambiguous Hawkeye ending, in which Kingpin was presumed to have been killed by Echo.
(featured image: Disney+)
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