Such is the pace of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s unstoppable expansion, one of Hawkeye‘s supporting players had their own solo series announced before Clint Barton and Kate Bishop’s own show had finished shooting.
Alaqua Cox’s Echo is clearly being set up for a major role in the franchise moving forward, with a combination of both her character’s comic book history and a recent spate of rumors indicating that the project may be the key to reintroducing a couple of longtime fan favorites.
In the pages of Marvel Comics, deaf superhero Maya Lopez was originally introduced as a child raised by none other than Wilson Fisk after he killed father William Lopez, who’ll be played by Zach McClarnon in Hawkeye. Not only that, but she goes on to form a romantic relationship with Matt Murdock, so the door is wide open for either Vincent D’Onofrio or Charlie Cox to play a part in Echo, perhaps even both.
Shooting isn’t expected to begin until early next year, but Lopez has shared a video on social media revealing that she’s already training hard for Echo, which you can see below.
It’ll be interesting to see how Hawkeye introduces Echo, and whether or not the streaming exclusive hews closely to her established origins. If it does, then we can expect the Daredevil and Kingpin rumors to intensify on a weekly basis when the mantle of the MCU’s resident expert archer begins its handover on November 24th.