Echo on Disney Plus is a new Marvel series starring Alaqua Cox as deaf, Native American supervillain Maya Lopez, who first entered the Marvelverse in the series Hawkeye.
This show focuses on Maya’s origin story and how as a child she was taken in and raised by crime lord Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) after he had her father killed. The hand-to-hand combat expert, who has a prosthetic leg, is a lethal fighter, thanks to her acute observational skills which allow her to mimic martial arts moves, and has she risen to become the boss of the New York street gang Tracksuit Mafia.
Echo follows Maya as she returns to her hometown where she must face her past and reconnect with her Native American roots. The series is the first of Marvel’s Spotlight shows, which feature characters from within the Marvel Cinematic Universe but who are more gritty and realistic than their usual fantastical Marvel counterparts.
Here’s everything you need to know about the exciting Disney Plus series Echo…
Echo release date
Echo is five-part series will premiere on Hulu in the US on Tuesday, January 9, and Disney Plus in the UK on Wednesday, January 10. For more information, here's how to watch Echo online.
Is there a trailer for Echo?
Yes and the Echo trailer shows how Maya is taken in by Wilson Fisk and becomes a ruthless fighter herself. “You and I are the same,” Fisk tells her, but it appears she may not agree. Take a look below...
Echo plot
When she was a child, Maya Lopez’s father Willie ‘Crazy Horse’ Lopez was killed on the orders of Kingpin/Wilson Fisk, who then raised her as his own. A skilled fighter, she rises to the top of his criminal empire as her alter ego Echo, whose trademark is a white hand on her face, symbolising the bloody handprint her father left on her as he died. Maya is consumed by a need for vengeance after her father’s death and, as she confronts her past, she vows to take her revenge on Kingpin.
Echo cast — Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo
Echo is played by deaf Native American actress Alaqua Cox, who grew up on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin. She is also an amputee. She joined the Marvel franchise in the 2021 series Hawkeye, which was her first acting role.
* See our interview with Alaqua below...
Interview with Alaqua Cox and Chaske Spencer on their roles in Echo
Here, Alaqua Cox and Chaske Spencer tell us what we can expect from Echo…
What can you tell us about your characters in Echo?
Alaqua Cox says: "Maya is a deaf indigenous person who has a biological family and an adopted family and she’s trying to reconnect with her biological family after finding out that her adopted family, her uncle specifically, betrayed her. So, she went back to reconnect with her biological family to try to rediscover a more complicated and deep life that she once lived. And to rediscover family."
Chaske Spencer says: "I always looked at Henry as a touchstone, a go-between between Maya’s past and her present. When Maya comes back into Henry’s world, he has no control over anything and he’s trying to play catch-up. I really like uncle Henry. He’s just a regular guy thrown into a unique situation."
Alaqua, are there similarities between you and Maya?
Alaqua Cox says: "Yes, we’re similar. We both have childhood trauma that we were raised with. It was different of course but I’m an amputee so I went through many different surgeries as a child and that made me a warrior in a sense. Maya had the death of her mother and all these tragic events in her life so we both have different traumatic experiences. It makes us both similar in a way because we’re both warriors and we’re tough and we’re badass."
How did you prepare for the action scenes in Echo?
Alaqua Cox says: "Luckily, I grew up playing different kinds of sports plus I have an older brother and we wrestled growing up, so that toughened me up. For this role I had a stunt training team and I’d train five days a week. It was a lot. Stunt training was a whole new world for me and I was able to learn choreography, jabs, fights and specific moves. It was very challenging, but it was a fun journey for me."
Do you think this series is a positive step for Native American representation on screen?
Alaqua Cox says: "Absolutely. I’m just so proud to represent a platform that is uplifting voices for indigenous people. I think it’s so great we have authentic people being picked for these roles and we’re able to portray them on screen with authentic representation. We’re doing it the right way."
Chaske Spencer says: " It’s extremely important. It wasn’t that long ago when I was a struggling actor in New York City it was hard to land an indigenous role that was well written. There’s still long road to go but right now it’s a phenomenal time for indigenous film because there’s a lot of talent out there. And they’re being seen."
Chaske, this is Alaqua’s first acting role. Were you impressed by her?
Chaske Spencer says: "Working with Alaqua is phenomenal. She was present and right there and the audience will be very impressed by her. I learned a lot from working with her."
Who else is starring in Echo?
In Echo, Charlie Cox plays Maya’s love interest Matt Murdock/Daredevil while Vincent D’Onofrio is crime lord Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. Zahn McClarnon is Maya’s father William. Devery Jacobs is Julie, a member of Maya’s indigenous family and Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Cody Lightening and Graham Greene round out the cast.
