Marvel's Echo on Disney Plus: possible release date change, confirmed cast, and more

What is going on with Marvel Studios' Echo? The Alaqua Cox-starring TV show has been the talk of the superhero town in recent months, just not for the right reasons.

Currently, it's still slated to land on Disney Plus in late 2023 – or, rather, that's what Marvel wants us all to think. Reports have suggested that Loki season 2 will be the last Marvel TV show of the year, meaning Echo could be delayed into next year. That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to problems that this Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project has been plagued by, which we'll dig into in this guide.

That's not all we'll cover, though. Below, we've rounded up the latest news and most interesting speculation about the Marvel Phase 5 TV series, including its current launch date plans, confirmed cast details, possible storylines, and what impact it could have on the MCU.

Full spoilers follow for Hawkeye, which is where Echo made her live-action debut. Potential spoilers for her spin-off show also follow.

Echo release date: current slot and possible new launch window

Currently, Echo is still slated to arrive on Disney Plus on Wednesday, November 29, with Marvel confirming as much in May. Back then, the studio also revealed Echo would get a Netflix-style launch, with every episode dropping on the same day.

Some of those plans, though, appear to have changed and there's reason to believe Echo's launch has been moved to January 2024. Per Streamer's Muhammed Hoosen (see the tweet below), an official Disney press asset folder suggests Echo will release at the beginning of next year instead.

Furthermore, a filing on the US copyright website – thanks to Reddit for the find – Marvel will release the show on January 10, 2024. That's despite production on the series seemingly being completed in late August, which meant it would've been able to meet its original November launch. Hopefully, Marvel will reveal if these rumors are true sooner rather than later.

Additionally, according to industry insider CanWeGetSomeToast (CWGST), Echo will comprise five episodes with approximately 60-minute runtimes. The leaker suggests this decision was taken due to pacing issues and, if true, it'll make Echo the shortest Marvel Disney Plus show – in terms of the number of episodes – ever. CGWST's leak seemingly confirms what another insider – Charles Murphy – previously alleged about Echo's episodic length.

Echo cast: confirmed and rumored

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 finale. 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. 

However, Deadline has since claimed Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs) is playing someone called Julie, who is described as "strong-willed and resilient". In a US copyright filing (thanks to Reddit for the screenshot), other character identities have also seemingly been revealed. They include apparent confirmations that Graham Greene is playing someone called Skully, Chaske Spencer as Henry, Cody Lightning as Cousin Biscuits, and Tantoo Cardinal as Chula.

Echo plot: synopsis and story speculation

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. With Maya set to 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 that show 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: is there one?

Despite the aforementioned teaser being shown at D23 Expo 2022, Echo doesn’t have a publicly released trailer yet. With the show potentially being delayed to January 2024, we might not get one for a while yet, either. We'll update this section once one is released.

How will Echo impact the MCU?

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

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 square up in Daredevil: Born Again, so expect the Mayor Fisk storyline to bleed over into The Man Without Fear’s Disney Plus 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.

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 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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