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

We’re less than a week away from Echo, the first Marvel TV show of 2024, debuting on Disney Plus. That’s right, unlike the last few years, the comic book giant is coming out swinging with a brand-new Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) just days into into the new year – and it’ll hope the miniseries can set the stage for a calmer, more acclaimed year than the past 12 months have been.

So, what do we know about Marvel’s next Disney Plus show? Below, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the Marvel Phase 5 project, including its release date, trailers, cast details, story synopsis, and more.

Full spoilers follow for Hawkeye, which is where Maya Lopez/Echo made her live-action debut. Potential spoilers for her standalone TV show are also on the way.

Marvel Studios’ Echo release date

Echo will be released on January 9. in the US, and January 10 in the UK and Australia. It was initially due out last November but, just three weeks before its original launch, Echo was handed a new release date. 

Marvel also confirmed the limited series will release on Disney Plus and Hulu (in the US), but it’ll only be available on the latter until April 9. Additionally, it’ll be the first MCU TV show to fall under the studio’s new ‘Spotlights’ banner, which is the home for Marvel projects that “focus on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity” (per Marvel.com). 

Lastly, it was confirmed Echo would get a Netflix-style launch, with all five episodes releasing simultaneously on launch day, in May 2023. So you’ll able to binge watch it to your heart’s content very soon.

Marvel Studios’ Echo trailer

A new 60-second stinger for Echo was released online ahead of the 2023 festive season. In it, we get a glimpse at one of the show’s one shot-esque fight sequences, which is eerily reminiscent of Netflix‘s Daredevil TV series (more on this later), other explosive and bloody moments, and a brief look at Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil battling Maya Lopez (i.e. the titular character). In short: color us excited.

Missed the first teaser that confirmed Echo‘s release date and Daredevil’s appearance, and showed off even more brutal R-rated action? Check it out below:

Marvel Studios’ Echo cast: confirmed and rumored

Major spoilers follow for Hawkeye.

Here’s Echo’s confirmed cast:

• Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo
• Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin
• Chaske Spencer as Henry ‘Black Crow’ Lopez, Maya’s uncle
• Tantoo Cardinal as Chula, Maya’s estranged grandmother
• Graham Greene as Skully, a grandfather-like figure to Maya
• Devery Jacobs as Bonnie, Maya’s childhood best friend
• Cody Lightning as Biscuits, Maya’s cousin
• Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil
• Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez, Maya’s deceased father

After making her MCU debut in Hawkeye, Cox’s Lopez/Echo returns to front her own show. Speaking to TechRadar ahead of Echo‘s release, director Sydney Freeland revealed Maya’s comic book backstory had been altered in the MCU to be “more authentic” to her Native American background.

McClarnon, who played Echo’s father William Lopez in Hawkeye, will show up but his appearances will be restricted to flashback sequences. In Hawkeye, it’s revealed 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 Fisk ordered the fatal hit on William Lopez, Echo sought revenge on her adopter, shooting him in the face during Hawkeye’s finale. Fisk’s fate was unknown after that showdown, but now we know he survived. You can read more about that showdown in our Hawkeye ending explained article.

Cox’s Murdock/Daredevil, who appeared in MCU projects Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk, will add to his supporting/cameo roles tally here. The trailer confirms Daredevil and Echo will fight at some point, too.

There’s been plenty of debate about whether the MCU’s versions of Fisk and Murdock are the same ones we saw in Netflix’s Daredevil series. Thanks to a new Fisk-centric TV spot on X/Twitter and a Comic Book Central chat with D’Onofrio, though, it’s all-but-confirmed they are.

As for the rest of the cast, they’re Maya’s blood relatives and/or figures from her childhood who she reunites with throughout her miniseries. You’ll have to wait for the show to launch to find out more, though.

Marvel Studios’ Echo plot: synopsis and story speculation

Here’s Echo’s official story synopsis: “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.”

According to industry insider DanielRPK, audiences shouldn’t expect audiences to view Maya as a hero or anti-hero in the show. Indeed, Echo is the first MCU project with a villain as the lead (Avengers: Infinity War‘s Thanos notwithstanding), so expect some questionable decisions to be made on her part.

It sounds like Echo will be a unique series when it arrives, too. In a chat with 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”. Speaking to TechRadar, director Sydney Freeland was also pleased to hear fans had likened Echo‘s tonality and vibe to that of hit crime series Breaking Bad and ultraviolent action-thriller film franchise John Wick – comparisons that certainly add to Broussard’s comments.

In a separate talk with Marvel.com, Freeland also hinted at the show’s spiritualistic side, saying: “There’s this undercurrent of this fantastical side, which is that we are going to be visiting Maya’s matrilineal ancestors, going quite a bit backward in time.”

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. In her MCU counterpart, though, Maya is a member of Oklahoma’s Choctaw Nation. To that end, the series will have a Choctaw language audio dub option available, per Entertainment Weekly (EW).

We’ll also get some insight into Maya’s upbringing and how she joined Fisk’s criminal empire. MCU leaker CanWeGetSomeToast (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. Freeland confirmed (via Marvel.com) that Maya and Fisk’s dynamic is “one of the core relationships in the entire series”, and that the miniseries will reveal Fisk’s real superpower is “his intellect and… ability to psychologically manipulate people.”

Potentially big Echo spoilers follow.

Given Daredevil’s supporting role in the show, many fans are curious to learn when and where Echo and The Man Without Fear will cross paths. We’re unsure right now but, per CWGST, the duo will only “communicate with their fists”, meaning we’ll see a potentially stellar fight sequence or two between them.

One story beat that seems ripe for exploration is the Blip, aka the five-year period between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Marvel hasn’t extensively examined this time period in any movie or TV show, choosing instead to drip-feed pieces of information throughout the MCU. However, MCU insider Charles Murphy has suggested “parts of Echo will take place during the Blip”, so we might see how Kingpin’s criminal empire gained a foothold during this time and Maya’s role in said expansion.

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 Maya acquire new abilities through 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, the character 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 Echo’s MCU iteration will get. 

Speaking at an Echo press event (per Variety), Freeland teased Maya will get a superpower upgrade, saying: “Her power in the comic books is that she can copy anything, any movement, any whatever. It’s kind of lame. I will say, that is not her power. I’ll just kind of leave it at that”. It sounds like the rumors are true, then.

How will Echo impact the MCU?

Potentially big spoilers follow for the MCU’s future.

Echo is the second series that explores the MCU’ new street-level corner. Hawkeye was the first and, based on events in that series and whatever happens in Echo, the pair might set up multiple Disney Plus series – and potentially one movie – where D’Onofrio’s Fisk could be the overarching villain. According to executive producer Brad Winderbaum (per ScreenRant), Fisk is being set up as the MCU’s street level version of Thanos (sans Infinity Stones, obviously).

According to CWGST, Fisk will run for New York Mayor post-Echo 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 the potential clampdown on so-called vigilantes? For starters, Daredevil. We know he’ll square off with Kingpin in Daredevil: Born Again, so expect the Mayor Fisk storyline to bleed over into the character’s own Disney Plus show. 

Echo is also expected to cameo in Born Again (per D’Onofrio, as reported by the Daredevil Updates Twitter account), but those plans may have changed. Daredevil: Born Again was reportedly in serious trouble as Marvel reworked the entire series after it failed to live up to the studio’s lofty expectations. However, with a new head writer and directors in place – and claims they’ll retain parts of the show’s original blueprint and already shot scenes – May might still show up.

On the movie side, Spider-Man 4, which is reportedly in the early developmental stages, could be affected by Fisk’s mayoral rise. Kingpin is one of Spider-Man’s most notable arch-nemeses, so seeing them go toe-to-toe on the big screen would surely get bums on 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, he could be in Fisk’s sights soon enough. Spider-Man and Daredevil big-screen team-up against Kingpin, anyone? 

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