Marvel’s Echo Series: All We Know About The Alaqua Cox Show
Alaqua Cox will star as Echo in the Disney+ series set to stream in 2023.
The Echo series is going to be yet another in a growing line of Disney+ series around relatively new characters. The Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps cranking it out and over the next few years, we are going to be treated to even more characters getting their own standalone movies or series.
With the studio working to phase out some of the legacy (and original) group of folks, more and more fresh faces will be popping up in this world. One of those is going to be Echo who we first met in Hawkeye.
She is just another of the many parts of Marvel’s upcoming youth movement meant to usher in the next phase of characters and stories. Let’s take a look at everything we know about this upcoming Echo series for Marvel and what we can expect out of this character.
MAYA LOPEZ/ ECHO IS A DEAF HERO WHO WAS RAISED BY KINGPIN
Echo is a somewhat unique character in the Marvel Universe mostly because her background differs from a number of other characters we’ve seen from this group. Born Maya Lopez, a Native American whose father was killed (in the comics) by Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin.
In an odd series of events here, she ends up being raised by Kingpin who wants to honor her father but also recognizes her in a unique set of abilities. Namely, Maya is deaf but has the ability to mimic the movements and fighting styles of all she encounters.
She begins her journey in the criminal underworld, but in the comics, she does end up working with Daredevil at times. And they do have a relationship at various points. This is something we could see explored in the new show.
ALAQUA COX IS THE STAR OF THE ECHO SERIES
Alaqua Cox will pick up the character again in her own series after receiving considerable acclaim just for the brief time we saw her in the Hawkeye series. Like the character, Alaqua Cox was born deaf in real-life, something the show found to be critical when casting the part of Echo. They wanted this to be a true representation of what was happening on screen.
Even more amazing about the Alaqua Cox casting for this Marvel series was that this was her first-ever acting credit. She had never been on screen in anything else before. Going from literally no acting background at all to a starring role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe just really never happens. Considering this is about the biggest movie and television franchise we’ve ever seen, bringing on a total newcomer is a feat in and among itself.
One would never have known her Hawkeye reps were the first time she’d really ever been in front of the camera. Again, this probably goes without saying, but this kind of thing simply never happens in the scope of major studios and huge franchises. Usually, there’s at least something on the resume.
ALAQUA COX FIRST APPEARED IN HAWKEYE ON DISNEY+
Alaqua Cox first makes an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Maya Lopez/ Echo in the first season of Hawkeye. For Hawkeye, they did change some of Maya’s backstory to fit more of the narrative that was happening within this series.
In the show, Maya believes her father was killed by Ronin, and she is out for revenge against that character. This sets her on a mission against both Clint Barton and Kate Bishop (Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld) and they have a couple of different run-ins during the series, though it’s not a critical piece of the overall narrative.
That being said, Echo’s appearance in this series does lay the groundwork for an upcoming series about the character. There are just enough breadcrumbs to fill out a major story about the character. How she lost her father, how she ends up under Kingpin’s watchful eye, and how she begins her time in the Track Suit Mafia. There are a number of different stories to mine just from that respect.
CHARLIE COX AS DAREDEVIL AND VINCENT D’ONOFRIO AS KINGPIN WILL APPEAR IN THE ECHO SERIES
While there are likely to be more confirmed as we get closer to the series actually hitting the air, we do have a couple of pieces already in place for this show. For starters, Vincent D’Onofrio will be there to reprise his Kingpin/ Wilson Fisk role that we’ve seen him play in a number of different spots now.
He was one of the folks to make his way over from the Netflix Marvel characters group, a welcome addition here to the MCU considering what he brought to the character. We are likely to get even more of him on screen than we saw in Hawkeye considering his close relationship with Maya.
Seeing as how he was one of the first confirmed cast members, and with the character background, this show could be as much about Kingpin as it is about Echo. We saw something similar in some of the Daredevil story arcs.
Speaking of Daredevil, we are also going to see Charlie Cox’s Matthew Murdock in this as well. As I said, Daredevil and Echo had a rich backstory in the comic books and that’s sure to be central to the overall arc here in this one.
In the comics, the two are at odds to start, with Maya sent after Daredevil by Kingpin. But things change along the way and the two do end up in a relationship. It’s not 100% that we see it play out like this here, but having Cox as Murdock/ Daredevil was pretty critical for this story.
SYDNEY FREELAND FROM RESERVATION DOGS WILL DIRECT
Like other Marvel shows, the creative duties are split in half between head writer and director. This is how Marvel has handled these in the past with each series comprising six episodes.
Sydney Freeland is on as the director, bringing a Native American background to the series. She’s worked on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as well as Reservation Dogs in recent years. She’s also received considerable critical acclaim for her movies Drunktown’s Finest and Deidra and Laney Rob a Train.
THE ECHO SERIES WILL COME TO DISNEY+ IN 2023
Echo is currently filming and is set to continue on through September 2022. The tentative plan (which is always subject to change) is for the show to hit Disney+ sometime in 2023. We will be here updating everything you need to know about Marvel’s Echo as more cast members are added and story news breaks.
