The road to Echo has been admittedly a slow one, with the title superhero debuting in Marvel’s Disney Plus series Hawkeye back in 2021. Two whole years (and some change) will have passed by the time it premieres in 2024, and unfortunately, this undercelebrated show has received a fraction of the love of Marvel’s other spin-offs — ahem, looking at you Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.
Weighed down by the title of the shortest Marvel TV show to date, its unprecedented all-at-once episode format, and lack of marketing on Marvel’s behalf, there’s no question Echo is fighting an uphill battle – but it’s not for a lack of interesting material.
Echo sees Alaqua Cox reprise her role as Maya Lopez – a Native American deaf amputee who has the ability to copy her opponent’s moves via photographic reflexes; she’s a master martial artist, a prodigy, and can wield a weapon or perform an acrobatic stunt as skillfully as Daredevil, whom she frequently studied in her early years. She is also the commander of the Tracksuit Mafia and an employee of Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin. Needless to say, this anti-hero’s origin story has plenty of meat on its bones, which makes it a shame that the conversation surrounding it has paled in comparison to some of Marvel’s other top-billed shows.
All that to say, there’s much to look forward to when Echo does finally drop on Disney Plus. Thanks to some customary calendar shuffling from Marvel, exactly when that will happen has changed. Fear not — hopeful Marvel stan — here’s what you need to know about when Echo premieres and who will be in it.
The full cast of Echo
As a spin-off of Hawkeye, several characters in Echo will be familiar to regular Marvel viewers. In addition to Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez, aka Echo, fans can expect to see Vincent D’Onofrio reprise his role as Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin and Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil.
In addition to those three, Zahn McClarnon will return as William Lopez – Maya’s father who was eventually murdered by Ronin, aka Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) after the Blip and who caused Maya to embark on the path of revenge in Hawkeye. McClarnon appeared in Hawkeye in the form of flashbacks.
Several indigenous actors will have a part to play in Echo, including Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs) as the character Julie – a member of Maya’s indigenous family, Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon) – who is of Cree and Métis heritage in real life, and Cody Lightning (Four Sheets to the Wind) – who is also of Cree heritage. Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves) will also star in the show.
In addition, Alexis Capozzi (National Treasure: Edge of History) will play an interpreter — likely Maya’s — and Chaske Spencer (The English), who played Jace Montero in Jessica Jones, will appear in an unnamed role.
When will Echo premiere on Disney Plus?
Already known for shuffling its calendar around, Marvel tossed Echo an extra curveball when it was reported that the show — which was previously scheduled to release on Nov. 29, 2023 — would be pushed back to January 2024. The change coincided with the dual writers’ and actors’ strike, although whether or not the strikes were the sole cause of the change was not shared. At the time of this writing, Echo does not have a definitive release date, only that it will debut during one of the five weeks of January 2024.
Marvel’s Disney Plus content has been experiencing growing pains in the last couple of years, with back-to-back shows like She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Ms. Marvel, and Secret Invasion all experiencing a decline in viewership. Disney’s CEO Bob Iger even called Marvel’s foray into serialized television a problem that’s “diluted focus and attention” within the MCU. Indeed, the company is scaling back on its content, favoring quality over quality. (Or so it says).
Time will tell if the release date chance helps Echo or simply delays the inevitable. It goes without saying that of all the shows on the docket, Echo is deserving of the most care and attention.