Hawkeye doesn’t even land on Disney Plus until next week, but spinoff Echo has already been in development for the better part of a year. This past March, it was revealed that Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez was getting her own Marvel Cinematic Universe series, but the trail went stone cold after that.
Of course, in a turn of events that was in no way at all coincidental, the floodgates of information have been booted open since Disney Plus Day revealed the streaming exclusive’s official logo. Production is slated to begin in April of next year, with Better Call Saul veteran Marion Dayre acting as lead writer and erstwhile showrunner, while the rest of the team is packed to the brim with talented TV scribes.
In a new interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, Marvel Studios producer Trinh Tran revealed how Echo ended up coming into existence, and it’s all to do with the sheer levels of badassery that the unknown Cox brought to her performance.
“She is such a badass in this series. She really completely impressed us all with her determination and hard work in wanting to make sure Maya Lopez is the way everybody wants. I have to say there was a bit of nervousness at the beginning because Alaqua hasn’t been a part of the industry. To get somebody brand new and pull her into a character like Maya Lopez, it’s a big deal. But she took it in strides, worked hard, and proved to us that there is a character who’s deaf but is able to be a part of the MCU and be a superhero in her own right.”
Marvel are striving to increase diversity and representation across the board, and an episodic effort headlined by a deaf amputee of Native American descent is definitely one way to let it be known, but Cox’s behind the scenes training videos have promised that she’s more than up to the task of joining some heavy hitters when Echo makes her the star of her own show.
