Disney Plus has started development on Echo, an MCU spin-off of the Hawkeye series, featuring Native American martial artist Maya Lopez.

Marvel Studios’ Echo will be released on Disney+ as part of the MCU’s 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. Also involved was her criminal relative Wilson Fisk/Kingpin with many wondering how the Kingpin was alive after Hawkeye to return for Echo. 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 follows Marvel Studios’ tendency to introduce lesser-known and more diverse Marvel Comics characters to the sprawling MCU with Maya Lopez fitting this model well. 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’s convoluted timeline. Similar 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, Echo will do the same for its titular antihero.

MCU’s Echo: Latest News

Marvel Studios’ Echo has had lots of information presented by the studio in the run-up to the show’s release.

Echo was among most of the MCU’s Disney+ shows that saw massive delays 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 release date as the entire series streams on January 9. This marks a huge change for Marvel’s Disney+ properties as the MCU’s Disney+ shows typically release an episode weekly, with Echo releasing all at once instead allowing viewers to binge-watch the series.

This means that Echo will employ a notably darker tone more reminiscent of Netflix’s Marvel TV shows.

In November 2023, the first trailer for Echo was released. Despite Echo‘s lesser-known status and unclear story causing less excitement than usual Marvel Disney+ efforts, the trailer for the show turned trepidation into anticipation. Echo will be rated TV-MA, the first project to do so in the MCU. This means that Echo will employ a notably darker tone more reminiscent of Netflix’s Marvel TV shows. This was evident in the first trailer for Echo, causing many to become much more excited about the project.

Shortly before the release of Echo on Disney+, Marvel Studios producer Brad Winderbaum sat down with Screen Rant to discuss the show. Winderbaum interestingly stated that he views Echo as a continuation of Netflix’s Daredevil thus viewing the latter as MCU canon. This is a big development, as the canon status of Netlix’s version of characters like Daredevil and Kingpin has long been a subject of debate. However, these comments from Winderbaum seem to confirm that the Kingpin and Daredevil of Echo are the same as those from Netflix’s Daredevil series.

Echo Was Officially Confirmed In 2021

Echo has been in development for almost three years, hopefully proving enough time to craft the show to a high standard.

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

All five episodes of Echo release on January 9, 2024.

All episodes of Echo began streaming on January 9, 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 be released 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 January 2024, 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 released 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. Echo‘s January 2024 release is expected to tie directly into Daredevil: Born Again, the upcoming MCU Disney+ show centered on the Man Without Fear.

Who Is In Marvel Studios’ Echo?

The cast of Marvel’s Echo promises tantalizing connections to other MCU projects and characters.

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 is 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.

Vincent D’Onofrio is set to return as Kingpin in Echo, despite his fate being left uncertain after he was shot by Maya 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/Daredevil in 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 is 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

The story of Echo is an intriguing blend of a superhero crime thriller with Native American influences.

By the end of Hawkeye, Maya Lopez learned that Kingpin was responsible for her father’s death, leaving her with nobody 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 reads:

“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. As such, it is 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. The show will then move beyond Hawkeye, exploring how her roots and childhood have impacted her relationships in the present-day MCU.

It is undeniable that Daredevil’s appearance in Echo is intended to draw a wider audience to the smaller-scale series, yet this also plays perfectly into the narrative. In Marvel Comics, Echo is often depicted as a supporting character to Daredevil and the pair form a fast connection meaning it makes sense for him to be included in her debut series. Maya has already been seen operating in the criminal underworld of New York meaning Echo could set up an important partnership for the future of the MCU’s street-level stories. This would allow the character to represent an intriguing element at the center of the ongoing conflict between Daredevil and Kingpin.

Who Is Echo? The MCU’s Deaf Superhero Explained

The lowdown on Echo, from her superpowers to her personal relationships and history.

Maya Lopez was first introduced in Marvel Comics’ 1999 run of Daredevil #9, depicted as a supporting character to Daredevil. 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 much like MCU’s Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster. Movement is one of Echo’s various strengths 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 made her the perfect fit for Hawkeye even though she has not been revealed to be a version of Ronin in the MCU. That is not to say that Clint Barton could not 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 is 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 meaning she could have a very bright future in the MCU.