Launching on both Disney+ and Hulu on January 9th, ‘Echo’ sees Marvel looking to assuage claims that it can only ever produce stories that are intrinsically linked to the wider cinematic universe.
So even though this is spun off from 2021’s ‘Hawkeye’ (where Alaqua Cox was introduced as deaf criminal enforcer Maya “Echo” Lopez), the new show looks to stand on its own for the most part. Even if the studio known for its sprawling storytelling can’t help but sprinkle in at least one cameo from another Marvel stalwart.
What ‘Echo’ really has to prove, however, is that it’s worthy of existing at all, especially at such a crucially tough point for Marvel (the company had a dreadful 2023 and faces a new year with a reduced number of shows and movies to rely on), and in the wake of rumors that it was heavily re-worked after early cuts were met with dissatisfaction by studio bosses.
Like Maya Lopez herself, this proves to be a scrappy, violent piece of work that often finds itself with its back up against the wall, but often with a smart solutions. Or, failing that, some nifty fighting skills.
Marvel only provided critics with the first three episodes (of five) and the fact that it’s all dropping in one go as opposed to the usual weekly release the company has established for its Disney+ output also carries with it the faint whiff of something that the studio is looking to push out (in January, no less) and move on from.
Yet while this is a far from perfect example of Marvel storytelling, it does at least take some interesting swings and layers in plenty of Native American (specifically Choctaw Nation) detail in an attempt to have this stand out from the typical bout of superpowered fisticuffs.
Advertised as the first of the new “Marvel Spotlight” label (the destination for stories that don’t have to move the wider MCU story forward), this is a darker and more vicious take on the character, especially in the wake of the more lighthearted ‘Hawkeye’.
With Sydney Freedland as lead director and executive producer, strides have been made to have ‘Echo’ offer real Native American representation, featuring plenty of flashbacks to the Choctaw Nation’s past and Maya herself seeming to channel ancestors (or at least have visions of them) at certain points.
In reality, though, it still somewhat comes across as window dressing more than, say a series such as ‘Reservation Dogs’, which fully embraces its native nature and has real use for it. Still, there are enough layers here that you appreciate the attempt.
Story-wise, the majority of the initial episode spends its time catching the audience up on what has happened before with the character and exploring her origin –– including how she lost part of one leg and learned of her family’s criminal links. Some of it is welcome world-building (and when you have actors such as Graham Greene and Zahn McClarnon in the roles, you know it’ll be worthwhile), while other scenes can feel like the show dragging its feet.
The look of the show is a real mixed bag –– while the focus is on a grittier, grounded and more realistic feel than some of the other MCU TV series, when the show does look to expand its focus, the visuals can sometimes devolve into a plastic-y, inauthentic-feeling mish-mash of styles, such as in an otherwise effective train sequence.
And though the show does not live and die on its fight scenes as, say the ‘Daredevil’ series did, what is here is also a toss-up. Some, including one that boasts Charlie Cox’s character himself, are extremely effective and well shot, whereas others just don’t work as well.
Cox brings the same blend of intensity and vulnerability as in ‘Hawkeye’, making Maya a character you’re happy to follow along with. The writers this time around have given her an entertaining knack for “MacGyvering” up solutions when she’s trapped, such as when she’s being held in the back room of a roller-skating rink.
And there is, of course, Vincent D’Onofrio, who brinks typically hulking menace to Wilson Fisk, AKA the Kingpin. He’s been bringing this character to life for years and while (in the episodes we were sent) he doesn’t have much to do besides seem dangerous, he always brings a noble ferocity to the role.
The new characters (though we glimpsed McClarnon as Maya’s father briefly in ‘Hawkeye’) are largely native color or feel like they come from some version of ‘Fargo’ or ‘Justified’ but add solid presence to the show so it’s not just Maya being badass. The likes of Devery Jacobs (a ‘Reservation Dogs’ veteran) as Maya’s cousin Bonnie all make the character’s hometown feel like something she would want to protect, even if she has been away from them for two decades.
It never quite escapes the feeling that this was a patch-job for a series that doesn’t quite function the way it should, but ‘Echo’ is certainly better than many feared it might be.
Cox’s scowly anti-hero seems unlikely to show up elsewhere within the MCU, but you’ll have a decent time following her exploits here.
Following the events chronicled in 2021’s ‘Hawkeye’, ‘Echo’ catches up with Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) as she is pursued by Wilson Fisk’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) criminal empire.
When the journey brings her home, she must confront her own family and legacy.
In ‘Echo,’ the new Marvel Studios streaming series on Disney+, we reunite with the title character, aka Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), who we first met in the 2021 series ‘Hawkeye.’ This deaf member of the Choctaw Nation was working in that show as head of the Tracksuit Mafia, a criminal gang operating under the auspices of Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio).
Learning that Fisk was responsible for the death of her father, Maya seemingly took her revenge on her boss and mentor at the end of ‘Hawkeye,’ shooting him in the eye. But as Marvel fans know, the Kingpin is almost impossible to keep down. With Fisk and his organization now after her in ‘Echo,’ Maya heads back to her hometown in Oklahoma, where she works to disrupt the Kingpin’s plans while re-embracing her family, her Native American roots, and her mysterious past.
‘Echo’ is the 10th Marvel Studios series to debut on Disney+ as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Like many other recent MCU offerings, ‘Echo’ has had its share of turbulence: the show was reportedly shot initially as an eight-episode limited series, but was later overhauled and reshot, with its episode count whittled down to five and its release delayed.
In its current incarnation, ‘Echo’ may be Marvel’s most violent series yet, with a gritty tone reminiscent of Marvel’s now-defunct Netflix shows like ‘Daredevil’ and ‘The Punisher.’ It’s also steeped in representation of the Choctaw Nation and Indigenous culture, with Marvel – in keeping with its long history in the comics – leading the way on giving marginalized people a seat at the superhero table.
Here are 10 things we learned at the ‘Echo’ press conference from Cox, D’Onofrio, Canadian Mohawk cast member Devery Jacobs, Navajo director and executive producer Sydney Freeland, and Marvel Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation Brad Winderbaum (edited for clarity and length).
A member of the Menominee and Mohican Nations, Alaqua Cox made her acting debut as Maya Lopez in ‘Hawkeye.’ Born deaf like her character, Cox faced other challenges as well, including growing up as an amputee with a prosthetic leg. Lopez says she shares many experiences with Maya.
Alaqua Cox: Well, we’re similar. I was raised with some trauma. We both have childhood trauma, of course, that we’re raised with, and it was different, of course. For example, I am an amputee, so I went through many different kinds of surgeries as a child. That made me a warrior, in a sense. And Maya had the death of her mother and all these tragic events that happened in her life. So we both have different traumatic experiences. It kind of makes us very similar in a way because we’re both warriors, we’re tough, and we’re badass, and I believe that’s how we’re the same.
Alaqua Cox says her athletic background helped her prepare for the rigorous training she undertook to fight and move like Maya.
Alaqua Cox: Luckily, I grew up playing different kinds of sports. Plus I do have an older brother who helped me become more of an athlete, because he’s very much an athletic person. We’re about a year and a half apart, so we wrestled growing up. That toughened me up. Then, when I did get the role, I had a stunt training team. About five days a week I would go to the training, and it was a lot. I learned so much as well. Growing up in sports, there weren’t a lot of stunt-specific things in sports, so stunt training was a whole new world to me. I was able to learn choreography, jabs, fights, and those specific moves, and that was so fun, and very challenging as well. But that was the greatest part of the project.
3) Why Vincent D’Onofrio Loves Playing Kingpin
Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk on Netflix’s ‘Daredevil.’
Vincent D’Onofrio has played Kingpin now in three Marvel series — ‘Daredevil,’ ‘Hawkeye,’ and ‘Echo’ — and explains why he continues to find Wilson Fisk such a compelling character.
Vincent D’Onofrio: I think that, originally in the comic books, he was also compelling. I’ve just been lucky to get the opportunity, beginning with the Netflix show, with really good writing, to bring him forward in I guess a kind of new way, but just my version of what they did in the original comics. Now in ‘Echo,’ it’s just more good writing. Without the writing, I can’t really do much other than show up. So the writing is there, and it gives me the opportunity to bring the character forward. ‘Echo’ is the first time since the Netflix show when I’ve actually felt like we brought Fisk into Maya’s story, but in a way that Fisk is, I think, best portrayed. It’s very similar to the way it was in the original series. That’s very exciting for me always, because it has a grittier feel to it and it’s a more emotional story with me and Alaqua’s character, Maya. I think that kind of tone is where my character, I believe, lives best.
Director and executive producer Sydney Freeland says that representation and collaboration with the Choctaw Nation was essential for ‘Echo.’
Sydney Freeland: Representation wasn’t something that was “if,” it was always something that was a necessity. So I think one of the things that was important for us was being able to engage with the Choctaw Nation very early on. I remember we came and presented at the Choctaw Cultural Center [in Oklahoma]. Really, for myself, there was two things. One was to ask permission from the Choctaw Nation to be portrayed because I feel like a lot of times what happens with Native and Indigenous stories is that people come in and they say, “We’re going to tell you what the story we’re going to tell.” We wanted to take a different approach. The second part was like, “Can we create a dialogue?” We want to be as authentic in our portrayal of the Choctaw language, the Choctaw culture, the Choctaw experience as we can. That came from the Choctaw Nation. I think a lot of times people tend to jumble all Native American tribes and cultures into this one big kind of monolith, and that’s not the case. Every tribe is different, every language is different, every culture has its own unique specificities. I’m Navajo and we’re telling a Choctaw story, so for me, it was an absolute necessity that we engage the Choctaw Nation to tell that story.
5) Choctaw Art Inspired One of the Show’s Key Relationships
Devery Jacobs (also the voice of Kahhori on Season 2 of Marvel’s ‘What If…?’) plays Bonnie, a child of deaf parents and Maya’s cousin, who stayed behind in Oklahoma to live her life there. Jacobs says that a piece of art was an inspiration for her character’s complex, sister-like relationship to Maya.
Devery Jacobs: We really wanted to make sure that it felt real between myself and Alaqua, that we had that history feel between us, and we did a lot of work beforehand to make sure that that history could be felt. Also, before going to Atlanta to shoot ‘Echo,’ I had a chance to stop in at the Choctaw Cultural Center, which was so beautiful. There was a piece towards the very end — and I’m kicking myself that I can’t remember the artist’s name — that was about these two cousins. There’s an older cousin and a younger cousin, and the relationship between Maya and Bonnie is, even though they’re cousins, it’s almost like they’re sisters. So it was that piece that was really inspiring to me. I remember texting the image to Alaqua and was like, “This feels like this is our characters.”
Director Sydney Freeland says that ‘Echo’ reveals more about Maya Lopez’s past as well as that of the Choctaw Nation.
Sydney Freeland: One of the most interesting aspects about the character is the fact that she’s a villain in ‘Hawkeye.’ But then within that, once you start pulling on that thread, you look at where she comes from, and you look at, “Oh, this is a deaf, Indigenous amputee girl from Oklahoma. How the hell does she end up being one of the top-ranking lieutenants in Kingpin’s army?” Answering those questions was such an exciting place to be. Then answering the question, “Well, what is that like when she goes back home?” Just for myself, being Indigenous, being an American, it was such a fun and exciting place to be. Then once you layer the Choctaw cultural specifics onto that, it gave us a chance to tell a really fun story. I think one example of that is actually in the second episode of our series. We have a scene that I think I can honestly say has never been seen on film before: we get a chance to visit pre-European-contact America, and that whole sequence came as a direct result of working with the Choctaw Nation.
Marvel movies and TV shows tend to land almost exclusively in more or less family-friendly territory in terms of ratings (PG-13 for movies, TV-PG or TV-14 for series). ‘Echo’ is the first Marvel show to land a TV-MA rating — the small screen equivalent to an R.
Brad Winderbaum: Well, I think Marvel is at its best when the storytellers follow the character and let the character kind of lead the dance, lead the journey. We knew, as soon as we cast Alaqua in ‘Hawkeye’ and saw what she did on screen in that show, that she would be an incredible character to follow into her journey. You know, ‘Echo’ is a more adult show. It’s our first TV-MA show, but we didn’t set out to make a TV-MA show. We set out to make a Maya Lopez show. This is a character who has a violent past, who’s dealt with some real trauma, who has really difficult decisions to make and ultimately has to confront people she loves in order to grow and change. In following this character, it created the tone. It created a grittier, more grounded story for the audience. That just so happened to be more adult. More TV-MA. But it really was always born from Maya as a character.
8) Vincent D’Onofrio Had An ‘Amazing’ Time Working on ‘Echo’
Despite rumors of extensive reshoots and revisions, Vincent D’Onofrio says that ‘Echo’ was a particularly satisfying experience for him and explains why.
Vincent D’Onofrio: There’s a couple things about this show that were really special. One of them was the fact that Sydney was one of the directors and executive producers. Then there was the fact that the DP was a woman. The writer was a woman. The directors were women. The lead is a woman. It’s one of the smoothest shows that I was ever on in my life. It was run so well. There was never a kink in the day. Nobody ever bumped against anything, not while I was there anyway. It was one of the smoothest productions. The first thing I said to my kids when I got home was, “That was one of the smoothest productions I’ve ever been on.” It was amazing, and that doesn’t always happen.
9) ‘Echo’ Is an Evolution in Storytelling for Native People
Alaqua Cox said that making ‘Echo’ with Native representation, actors, and creators is a major step forward in telling Indigenous stories in Hollywood.
Alaqua Cox: I’m just so proud to be able to represent a platform that is uplifting voices for Indigenous people, and I’m just obviously so excited. I think it’s so great that we have authentic people being picked for these roles, and we’re able to show them on the screen in authentic representation. We’re doing it the right way. That’s what I think is the most important.
Devery Jacobs added:
Devery Jacobs: To borrow a saying from the disabled community that they have coined, they say nothing about us without us. I think that’s so true for any marginalized community, including Indigenous folks. When it comes to telling our stories, making sure that there are as many storytellers from that community as possible is paramount. There’s been 100 years of lack of representation and misrepresentation and an intentional exclusion of Indigenous voices in Hollywood. To have us be a part of these conversations is integral to making sure that we’re able to accurately tell our stories.
Marvel executive producer Brad Winderbaum says that ‘Echo’ marks a new turning point for the way Marvel tells stories.
Brad Winderbaum: Marvel is such a big, vast universe. The comics have been called the greatest ongoing story that’s ever been written – certainly the longest. There are so many corners to the universe that are still unexplored, even today. Maya allowed us to see a corner of the MCU that hadn’t been seen before. To me, that is the future of Marvel. It is being able to tell stories that are unexpected, that operate on the fringe of what we’ve seen before, and are standalone, character-focused, and have a unique personality all their own. In a way, ‘Echo’ marks a new beginning for the studio. It’s a new tone for us. It is a truly grounded and emotional journey. Not just for the audience, but certainly, for all of us who are lucky to be behind the scenes. I have to say that, through Sydney’s leadership on the production, we had a real sense of community making this show. It was a nurturing, collaborative experience, and frankly, one of the best in my career.
Following the events chronicled in 2021’s ‘Hawkeye’, ‘Echo’ catches up with Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) as she is pursued by Wilson Fisk’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) criminal empire. When the journey brings her home, she must confront her own family and legacy.
It continues the story of the vengeful Maya Lopez from ‘Hawkeye’.
The show will launch in one batch on both Disney+ and Hulu.
Looking to put reports of production issues behind it, Disney and Marvel have released the first trailer for ‘Echo’, the series that spins off the Maya Lopez character (played by Alaqua Cox) from 2021’s ‘Hawkeye’.
And from the looks of this initial footage, the tone for the show will be quite distinct from its parent series or, indeed the rest of Marvel’s Disney+ output to date. There is violence almost from the get-go, including Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) putting the hurt on an ice cream seller who dismisses a young Maya because he doesn’t understand that she’s deaf.
And the differences don’t end there –– the series will debut on both Disney+ and Hulu, with a TV-MA age restriction (the trailer makes it clear that D+ uses will have to tweak their age settings if they’ve been using it in family mode) and all five episodes will be available at once, as opposed to the company’s previous policy of weekly releases.
Following the events in the ‘Hawkeye’ finale (where Maya shot Wilson Fisk in the face), we catch up to the main character as she is pursued by his criminal empire.
When the journey brings her home, she must confront her own family and legacy.
“It’s a little on the grittier side for Marvel and shows the breadth of what Marvel is capable of. It is sort of a new direction for the brand, especially for Disney+.”
And here’s Freedland on the impact of the series:
“People on our show — they bleed. They die. They get killed and there are real world consequences.”
This is also the first show to feature a deaf Native American as its title character, albeit one who has special powers. Just don’t expect the comic book version.
“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.”
When and where can I watch ‘Echo’?
Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez in Disney+’s ‘Echo.’
As mentioned, all five episodes of ‘Echo’ will debut at once on Disney+ and Hulu on 10 January.
According to actor Jeremy Renner’s spokesperson, the ‘Avengers’ star is in “critical but stable condition with injuries suffered after experiencing a weather related accident while plowing snow” yesterday morning at his home near Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe, about 25 miles from Reno, Nevada.
Deadline reports that, according to Sergeant Kristin Vietti of Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, police “responded to a traumatic injury in the area of Mt. Rose Highway in Reno, Nevada at 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day.”
The police reported that “Upon arrival, deputies coordinated with Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District and REMSA Health to arrange for medical transport of Mr. Jeremy Renner via care flight to a local area hospital. Mr. Renner was the only involved party in the incident.”
According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, the region “saw a winter storm hit on New Year’s Eve that resulted in 35,000 homes across Northern Nevada’s Washoe, Carson, Douglas, Storey and Lyon counties losing power…”
Renner’s representative further commented that the actor’s “family is with him and he is ‘receiving excellent care.’”
A Best Actor Oscar nominee for 2009’s ‘The Hurt Locker,’ and a Supporting Actor Oscar nominee for 2010’s ‘The Town,’ Renner may be best known for his portrayal of the superheroic archer Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, in Marvel’s ‘Avengers’ movies and the Disney+ spin-off series ‘Hawkeye.’
His latest project is headlining the series ‘The Mayor of Kingstown,’ the second season of which is set to premiere January 15 on Paramount+.
(L to R) Charlie Cox as Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin on Netflix/Marvel’s ‘Daredevil.’
The link between the defunct Netflix Marvel TV series and the current MCU is growing even closer. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, who have both returned as their ‘Daredevil’ characters in Marvel Studios productions, are now reuniting for ‘Echo’, the spin-off from ‘Hawkeye’ that stars Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez, according to The Weekly Planet podcast.
Cox played Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer who boasts echo-location abilities and dons a costume to fight crime as the vigilante known as Daredevil in three seasons of the show named for the character, plus crossover miniseries ‘The Defenders’. D’Onofrio, meanwhile, was hulking villain Wilson Fisk, AKA The Kingpin, Daredevil’s arch enemy, in the first and third seasons of the show. ‘Daredevil’, along with other Netflix shows, was added to Disney+ this year.
D’Onofrio showed up as one of the antagonists in ‘Hawkeye’, and clashed with Lopez, so it makes sense for him to be back in ‘Echo’, especially as their confrontation ended in a cliffhanger.
‘Echo’ will explore more of Maya Lopez’s life as her time in New York as a gang leader catches up to her. She returns to her hometown and looks to reconnect with her Native American roots. But of course, it won’t be as easy as that.
Marion Dayre is head writer on the show, while Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie are directing the series, which is filming now and expected to arrive on Disney+ next year.
Marvel has naturally yet to officially comment on the return of Cox and D’Onofrio, but according to The Weekly Planet, part of Murdock’s story on ‘Echo’ will have him seeking out “a former ally” which is speculated to be fellow Marvel/Netflix veteran Jessica Jones, played by Krysten Ritter.
The super-powered private detective appeared in three seasons of her own show, along with ‘The Defenders’, and was one of the most popular characters from the Netflix run. If she does indeed return, the only characters left to bring over (or turn into MCU versions) would be Luke Cage and The Punisher.
Oh, and Iron Fist. But does anyone really want to see him back? We’d happily see Coleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) from that show return, though.
Regardless, it’s exciting to speculate on whether the entire Netflix superhero team could one day reunite on Disney+.
Ever since the deal between Marvel and Netflix expired and the various Marvel TV series arrived on Disney+, speculation began that the streaming service might see the return of characters such as Daredevil or Luke Cage.
And given Vincent D’Onofrio’s key appearance as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin in Disney+ series ‘Hawkeye’ and Charlie Cox showing up for a cameo on the big screen’s ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, all the signs were that Kevin Feige and team Marvel were pointing to a return engagement for their characters.
Of course, this is the point where we remark that as yet, everything to know about the series comes from sources talking to Variety. Marvel has, as is its common policy, made no official statement at the time of writing.
Here’s what we know so far. The company certainly appears to be in development on a new ‘Daredevil’ series, one that would presumably feature the full return of Charlie Cox as the Man Without Fear. And with D’Onofrio’s Kingpin out there too (even with the ambiguous way his final ‘Hawkeye’ confrontation with Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez ended), the stage would seemingly be set for a rematch between the two old foes.
So far, Matt Corman and Chris Ord, who co-created ‘Covert Affairs’ will be leading the writing and serving as executive producers on the show.
Corman and Ord have also worked on shows including ‘The Enemy Within’ and ‘The Brave’ on NBC as well as The CW’s ‘Containment’.
Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk on Netflix’s ‘Daredevil.’
The Netflix series ran for three seasons between 2015 and 2018, and starred Cox as Matt Murdock, the lawyer blinded in an accident as a child who also gained superior sonar powers. He splits his time between legal cases and donning his Daredevil outfit to fight crime.
That show’s cast also included Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson and helped spin off the likes of Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal.
Whether the rest of the cast will be back to support Cox remains to be seen, but fans will surely be hoping that most of them come back. And depending on the success of ‘Daredevil’, that could open the door to the other main characters, which is an exciting concept.
Marvel has been pumping out shows for Disney+, weaving stories and characters from the wider MCU movies. So far this year alone we’ve seen ‘Moon Knight’, starring Oscar Isaac with ‘Ms. Marvel’ due on June 8th and ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ landing on August 17th. A trailer for the latter show just dropped this week.
You had the sparky interplay between Renner and co-star Hailee Steinfeld, playing Kate Bishop, a talented arrow-slinger in her own right. The many entertaining arrows that were slung, including one that shrank enemies down to minute size. The snarkiness of Florence Pugh’s Yelena. The hulking return of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, AKA Kingpin. And of course, Pizza Dog!
Amongst it all was the arrival of a new talent, as deaf actress Alaqua Cox played Maya Lopez, the deaf, Native American head of a gangland group that caused no end of trouble for Clint and Kate.
A spin-off starring Cox as Lopez had already been announced, but it’s now shooting in Atlanta, and the first image has arrived online. This being Marvel and Disney, it doesn’t give anything away, simply showing Maya in a moment of repose in an industrial setting.
What do we officially know so far? This new series will serve as an origin story for Maya, 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.
Maya’s story was certainly a fascinating one on ‘Hawkeye’, riddled with tragedy in the death of her family and watching a young, ambitious woman wrangle with her Native roots and her family’s criminal ties. The show perhaps didn’t have enough running time to give her all the space she needed, so it’s good to see that she’ll have an entire series to explore her complicated past.
Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk on Netflix’s ‘Daredevil.’
When we last saw Maya, she was confronting Fisk on a New York side street – the scene ends with a gunshot and plenty of ambiguity, leaving us to wonder exactly what happened there. The new series’ origin story nature leads us to think that we might not get many answers, but hopefully it’ll address it somehow.
Marion Dayre will be head writer on this series, while Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie will split directing duties between them.
‘Echo’ has yet to confirm a launch date on Disney+ – hardly a big surprise, since the cameras have literally just started rolling – but it should be on screens next year.
Variety is reporting that Hailee Steinfeld is being eyed to play Kate Bishop in the new Marvel Studios/Disney+ series “Hawkeye.” Comic book fans know Bishop as the eventual inheritor of the Hawkeye mantle and will serve as Jeremy Renner’s protégé in the new series.
As Variety points out, the character (who also served as a member of the Young Avengers) could very conceivably pivot to a stand-alone series or appearances in the MCU proper. Disney has yet to release an official announcement, but the show should make its way to Disney+ in the next couple of years (since it’s part of the Phase 4 plan Marvel mapped out earlier this summer at San Diego Comic Con). “Hawkeye” takes place after the events of “Avengers: Endgame,” which is intriguing, but certainly adding Steinfeld to the MCU is a very good move. It sounds like a casting bullseye to us!
Marvel heroes: You get your own series, and you get your own series, and YOU get your own series.
Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye is the latest “Avengers” hero to get his own Disney+ series, according to Variety.
The forthcoming streaming service is developing a limited adventure series that will see archery ace Clint Barton aka Hawkeye pass the torch to Kate Bishop. In the comics, Bishop takes on the Hawkeye identity after Barton. She is also a member of the group known as the Young Avengers.
Renner has played Hawkeye since making an uncredited cameo in 2011’s “Thor.” He has reprised the role in “Avengers,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Captain America: Civil War” and the upcoming “Avengers: Endgame.”
Hawkeye is the latest Marvel character to get a series on Disney+. Other projects in development revolved around Falcon and Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch and Vision, and Loki.
Hawkeye was not in “Infinity War,” despite Renner teasing some “wondrous things” for his character. But we’re pretty sure he’s actually showing up in “Avengers 4,” which was filmed right after “Infinity War.”
“Avengers 4” is now shooting additional photography — aka reshoots, aka finishing the movie — and Jeremy Renner is part of that work.
Here are two recent photos Renner posted to tease fans. Pay attention to the hashtags in the second one:
Hawkeye is one of the original six “Avengers.” Five of the six OG stars (not Mark Ruffalo) got matching tattoos after filming to commemorate the experience.
“Avengers 4” is currently scheduled for release over here on May 3, 2019.
