Summary

Marvel Studios drops first trailer for Echo, promising a grittier and more mature tone, aligned with the comics. TV-MA rating and humanized characters add depth. Echo won’t possess same powers as comics, and will be portrayed as a villain. Show’s director emphasizes the need to lean into the villainous aspect, tonally. Charlie Cox set to reprise role as Daredevil. Fans can expect to see him in action before his own series takes center stage.

Marvel Studios is gearing up for the release of Echo, and they’ve dropped the first trailer for this upcoming series. Alaqua Cox is returning to her role as Maya Lopez, previously introduced as an antagonist in Hawkeye. Her character has direct ties to Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, who first made an appearance in the Netflix series Daredevil. Echo will be Marvel’s first Disney+ series to carry a TV-MA rating, promising a grittier and more mature tone that aligns with the comics.

The executive producer, Brad Winderbaum, shared insights into the show’s direction, emphasizing that this shift aims to demonstrate the diversity and depth of storytelling Marvel is capable of while staying true to the source material (via ComicBook.com). Additionally, as a departure from the standard Disney+ model, Echo will simultaneously debut on both Disney+ and Hulu.

“It’s our first TV-MA show, so it’s a little on the grittier side for Marvel. And I think again, shows kind of the breadth of what Marvel’s capable of. And certainly something, again, if you know the comics and know the history, it feels very in line, but is kind of a new direction for the brand, especially on Disney+. And to that end, it’s going to be, for many reasons, going to be simultaneously released on Disney+ and Hulu.”

The creators also aim to humanize the characters, emphasizing their vulnerabilities, and portraying real-world consequences, steering away from the typical universe-ending stakes seen in Marvel’s previous shows.

“We wanted very adamantly to show that these are people in our show,” director and executive producer Sydney Freeland said. “They bleed, they die, they get killed, and there are real-world consequences. And again, talking, it’s not the fate of the universe at stake because I think once you go that broad, you can sort of lose sight a little bit. And so that kind of dictated the tone a little bit.”

Related: Where Will Daredevil and Kingpin Show Up in Future MCU Projects?

Maya Lopez Takes On a Villainous Role in Echo
Disney+

During a recent trailer event for the series, it was confirmed by Sydney Freeland that Echo’s character will not possess the same powers as depicted in the comics, and she is portrayed as a villain. In an interview with ComicBook.com, Freeland emphasized the need to lean into this villainous aspect:

“We wanted something that, again, if you’re coming off of Hawkeye, and you have to keep in mind she’s a villain. She’s a villain. And so tonally, we wanted to lean into that. I think in talking with the executives and our approach, and when building visual style, it was sort of like, ‘Oh yeah, lean into that, lean into that.’
Yeah, so 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 [in the show] and I’ll just kind of leave it at that.”

The rest of the cast for the show includes Zahn McClarnon, Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Devery Jacobs, Cody Lightning, and Graham Greene. Charlie Cox is also set to reprise the role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil. While the exact extent of his involvement in the story remains a bit of a mystery, fans can expect to see him back in action before his own series, Daredevil: Born Again, takes center stage.

Echo is scheduled to debut on January 10, 2024.