Echo: Marvel Studios has just announced that Echo will premiere on January 9, a day earlier than originally planned. The series will also premiere in prime time and will be available at 6:00 PM PT/9:00 PM ET on Disney+ and Hulu. On Echo we also saw Alaqua Cox reprise her breakout role on the hockey series and the lead role of Maya Lopez. Maya returns home to face her past because it is the only way for her to move forward and learn the true meaning of family. Both Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox will return as Wilson Fisk (aka Kingpin) and Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil), respectively.
Echoes will be the first Marvel-produced series to be rated TV-MA under parental guidelines, as the series will feature a more serious and violent story than any other Disney-produced Marvel series. Echo director Sidney Freeland discussed this approach to the series, saying, “Hawkeye aside, Maya is a villain, so we wanted to delve into that today.” He acknowledged that previous Netflix-produced Marvel superhero shows such as Daredevil and The Punisher have adopted a similar tone, expressing his “love” for the approach and how it helped “set the tone.”
This tonal shift that Echo is choosing will be a huge effort for the studio going forward, as Marvel recently unveiled a new idea for Marvel Studios called the Spotlight banner, under which Echo will be the first title released. The titles released under the new banner will be part of MCU-lite projects, intended to highlight a different kind of Marvel story.
What is a Marvel Spotlight banner?
The Spotlight banner will focus on character-driven stories that are more realistic and serious within the larger context of cosmic diversity like the MCU. Instead of each story being about saving Earth, the universe, or even the multiverse, the stakes are much closer to home, with personal stories of characters just trying to get by. This is something that Brad Winterbaum, head of streaming at Marvel Studios, believes will help bring a fresher and more grounded approach to stories that are more about “street level” rather than space battles.
The term “Spotlight” is a tribute to the comic book series of the same name that began in 1971. The series gave publishers the opportunity to create new characters that didn’t have to be standard out-of-this-world comic book characters. Signs are tracked. It was during this time that characters such as Ghost Rider and Werewolf by Night were introduced and developed. Marvel Studios is returning to its roots with the Spotlight banner in an attempt to overcome the superhero fatigue that has plagued recent MCU titles. And based on the positive reviews of the Echo trailer, it’s clear that this is a good series to start this project with.
Echo
Streaming exclusively on Disney, the origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez, whose ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown. 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.