Marvel’s Echo on Disney Plus: release date, cast, plot speculation, and more

Echo will be the final Marvel TV show to debut on Disney Plus in 2023. Even though its release date is fast approaching, however, much of it is shrouded in mystery.

That’s where we come in. Below, we’ve rounded up the most important information and biggest rumors we can find on the Alaqua Cox-starring Disney Plus series. That includes the Marvel Phase 5 project’s launch date, cast details, potential storylines, and how it’ll tie into the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Full spoilers follow for Hawkeye, the MCU TV show where Echo made her MCU debut. Potential spoilers are also discussed for Echo.

Echo release date

Echo will arrive on Disney Plus on Wednesday, November 29. Marvel has also revealed that Echo will get a Netflix-style launch, with the entries series dropping on launch day.

It’s unclear why Echo is being released in full. Episodes of every other Marvel TV show have aired weekly, so this marks a major departure from Marvel and Disney’s usual streaming release strategy.

Industry insiders have been busy speculating on why this is the case. According to numerous leakers, including ViewerAnon and CanWeGetSomeToast (CWGST), Echo’s development has been rougher than Secret Invasion, the most recent MCU TV show that was trashed by fans and critics alike. Per CWGST, Echo has undergone reshoots to aid its episodic flow. According to MCU insider Charles Murphy, Echo will only comprise five episodes, too. 

Given the confusion over its development cycle, it’s unsurprising to see reports that Marvel might even delay Echo’s release. There appeared to be some credibility to those rumors in early August, too, when Echo’s launch date was left off Disney’s late 2023 TV show line-up. However, Marvel insider Alex P suggests it won’t be pushed back into 2024, citing the fact that Loki season 2’s October 6 release date also wasn’t included on Disney’s slate. Loki’s next outing hasn’t been delayed, either, so you should expect Echo to still debut later this year.

Echo cast

Major spoilers follow for Hawkeye’s ending.

Here’s Echo’s confirmed cast so far:

• Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo
• Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez 
• Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin
• Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil
• Devery Jacobs as Julie 
• Chaske Spencer as TBA 
• Tantoo Cardinal as TBA 
• Cody Lightning as TBA 
• Graham Greene as TBA 

After making her debut in Hawkeye, Cox’s Lopez/Echo returns to front her own show. She’ll be joined by McClarnon, who played Echo’s father William Lopez in Hawkeye. McClarnon’s appearance, though, will be restricted to flashback sequences. In Hawkeye, it was revealed that the Tracksuit Mafia’s former lynchpin was dead, with William believed to be killed by Clint Barton/Hawkeye (then masquerading as anti-hero Ronin) during the Blip, i.e. the time period between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Following his own MCU entrance in Hawkeye, D’Onofrio’s Fisk will also return. Fisk adopted Maya after her father’s death and trained the deaf superhero to become an expert combatant for his extensive crime syndicate. However, when it was revealed that Fisk ordered the fatal hit on William Lopez, Echo sought revenge on her adopter, shooting him in the face during Hawkeye’s final episode. Fisk’s fate was unknown after that showdown, but now we know he survived. He’ll sport an eye patch as a result of Echo’s attack.

Cox’s Murdock/Daredevil, who appeared in MCU projects Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk, will add to his supporting roles tally here. Per industry leaker Daniel RPK (as reported by Taverna Marvel), Daredevil will only feature in two episodes. Will we see Daredevil and Fisk throw down like they did in Netflix’s Daredevil series? Here’s hoping. If they don’t, we’ll have to wait for them to cross paths in Daredevil: Born Again, which is slated to arrive in 2024.

As for other supporting players, we don’t know most of their identities yet. Marvel confirmed the hiring of other actors in May 2022, but the studio hasn’t revealed who they’re playing. Deadline has since claimed Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs) is playing someone called Julie, who is described as “strong-willed and resilient”.

Echo plot

Here’s Echo’s official story synopsis, which was released alongside the show’s cast announcements: “The origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez, whose ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown [of Oklahoma]. 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.”

Not much to go on, but it sounds like Echo might be a unique series when it arrives. Speaking to Collider, producer Stephen Broussard said it’s a “very different” type of story from what we’ve previously seen in the MCU, adding:”“It feels very grounded and spiritual in ways that feel fresh for us.”

That “spiritual” aspect has a lot to do with Echo’s Native American heritage. In the comics, Maya Lopez is a descendant of the Cheyenne Nation, an Indigenous tribe with a strong belief that all living things are spiritually connected. Given the show’s synopsis confirms Maya will explore her ancestry and reconcile with her past, we expect her Cheyenne roots will have a big role to play.

Speaking of her past, we’ll get some insight into Maya’s upbringing and how she joined Fisk’s criminal empire. CWGST claims we’ll see a flashback to William Lopez’s death in 2019, how Maya’s impacted by that loss, her first interaction with Fisk, and her training to become the Tracksuit Mafia’s new leader (per CWGST). Echo could even have crowd-pleasing ties to Netflix’s Daredevil series, with CWGST suggesting it’ll officially canonize the whole of Netflix’s live-action adaptation as part of the MCU.

Potentially big Echo spoilers follow.

Marvel fans who’ve seen Hawkeye and/or read Echo-starring comics will know her main superpower is photographic reflexes. Essentially, she’s able to mimic the abilities/movements of other people, just like Black Widow villain Taskmaster. 

Presumably, then, we’ll see Echo hone her mimic-based powers in her series, right? Not quite. In fact, Maya will get a sizable superhero-style upgrade – and it’s all thanks to her ancestors.

According to CWGST, Echo will see the titular character acquire new abilities through numerous Native American tattoos. The first one, which manifests in her hands, will grant her superhuman strength. The next one will give her a sharpshooting ability and “manifest the same gun as the ancestor empowering her”. Lastly, she’ll get enhanced speed and durability, which will help her “determine the trajectory of a person’s/item’s movement”. 

It seems these rumors have some truth to them, based on a report from The Direct. During Marvel’s section of Disney’s 2022 edition of D23 Expo, the first footage of Echo was shown exclusively to attendees and teased Maya’s glowing hands.

Incidentally, in the comics, Echo is known for the white handprint Maya marks her face with whenever she uses her superhero alias. So it seems Marvel is using this iconic look as a basis for the tattoos the character’s MCU iteration will get.

Echo trailer

Despite the aforementioned teaser being shown at D23 Expo 2022, Echo doesn’t have a publicly released trailer yet. With the show set to arrive in just over three months, though, we’re hoping one drops relatively soon. You know, as long as the show isn’t delayed.

How will Echo impact the MCU?

Echo is expected to be the second series that explores the MCU’s new street-level line of productions. Hawkeye was the first and, based on events that occurred in that show, and that’ll play out in Echo, the pair will set up multiple Disney Plus series (and potentially one movie) where D’Onofrio’s Fisk is the overarching villain.

Why do we say that? According to CWGST, Fisk will run for New York Mayor – once he’s recovered from his eye wound, anyway – and win that election. Of course, installing the boss of a criminal empire as mayor won’t be good news for New York’s superhero contingent, with Mayor Fisk likely to install them as enemies of the state.

So, who could be affected by Mayor Fisk potentially clamping down on these so-called vigilantes? For starters, Daredevil. As we mentioned, Daredevil and Kingpin will be the primary protagonist and antagonist of Daredevil: Born Again, so expect the Mayor Fisk storyline to bleed over into The Man Without Fear’s TV show. Echo is also expected to cameo in Born Again (per D’Onofrio, as reported by the Daredevil Updates Twitter account) and, after she shot her adoptive uncle in Hawkeye, you can bet he’ll put out a call to bring her to justice, too.

On the movie side, Spider-Man 4, which is in the very early stages of development, could be affected by Fisk’s rise to New York Mayor. Kingpin is one of Spider-Man’s most notable arch-nemeses, so seeing this pair go toe-to-toe on the big screen would surely get bums on multiplex seats. Following the events of No Way Home, it seems Tom Holland’s webslinger will become the friendly neighborhood version of Spidey we’ve been waiting for. And, with the wallcrawler’s identity now a closely guarded secret after what transpired in No Way Home, this masked hero could be in Fisk’s sights soon enough. Spider-Man and Daredevil big-screen team-up against Kingpin, anyone? 

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