After playing the villain in “Hawkeye,” Alaqua Cox’s character Maya Lopez will take on a hero’s journey in the upcoming Disney+ series “Echo.” Premiering on January 9th at 9/8c on both Disney+ and Hulu, the show follows the deaf and Indigenous martial artist as she returns home to confront her family and legacy while being pursued by the criminal empire of Wilson Fisk, played by Vincent D’Onofrio.
“Echo” is the first Marvel series rated TV-MA to stream on Disney+, and it will launch a new subcategory under the Marvel Spotlight banner. Alaqua Cox, who plays the lead role, expressed her excitement about being part of this groundbreaking venture. She stated, “I’m able to make my own show, and the fact that it’s [rated TV-MA] for the first time and it’s also going to Hulu for the first time and Disney+, and they’re dropping all the episodes? It kind of feels like, ‘Oh, cool. I’m making history.’ But I’m very excited for it.”
While the show will feature brutal and violent sequences, executive producer Brad Winderbaum clarified that their main goal was not to create a TV-MA show. Instead, they aimed to stay true to the character of Maya Lopez, who has a violent past and an ethical gray area. Winderbaum explained, “We wanted to make a Maya Lopez show and be true to that character who has that violent past, who lives in this ethical gray area, who has a journey that can be rough at times. We ended up making a TV-MA show in order to stay true to her and her journey.”
Sydney Freeland, the director and executive producer of the series, added that they wanted to tell a more intimate story without sacrificing the scope and scale. They aimed to be more street-level and grounded, creating a visually appealing show with intense action sequences.
As for Vincent D’Onofrio’s character, Kingpin, who survived a gunshot wound in a previous Marvel series, he teased that the show will explain how his character managed to survive. He mentioned, “If you’re a fan of Kingpin and Daredevil, you know that Kingpin never dies. We just had to figure out a clever way of [moving] on from that shot towards the face, and we came up with a really cool thing. He does get hurt pretty bad.”
Fans of the Marvel universe are eagerly anticipating the premiere of “Echo” and are excited to see what the series has in store.