Ever since it was first announced that Hawkeye’s Alaqua Cox would be getting her own Marvel Cinematic Universe spinoff series on Disney Plus, the majority of talk surrounding Echo has named it as a potential destination for Kevin Feige’s franchise to reintegrate the cast of Netflix’s Daredevil.
On paper, it does make a great deal of sense; in the comic books, Maya Lopez and Matt Murdock eventually strike up a romantic relationship, while one version of her origin story sees Echo’s father murdered by Wilson Fisk, who takes the girl in and raises her as his own.
Understandably, then, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio have regularly been touted for Echo, with insider Daniel Richtman now doubling down on that opinion. As per the tipster, the streaming show will effectively act as a fourth season of Daredevil, softly rebooting the Man Without Fear and several of his supporting characters to absorb them into official MCU continuity.
If that turns out to be true, then it would torpedo Echo‘s ability to stand on its own merits right from the off. Marvel is pushing for greater diversity and representation on either side of the camera throughout Phase Four and beyond, and instantly sidelining a brand new character played by a deaf Native American amputee in favor of two white dudes most definitely wouldn’t hit that remit. Hopefully Cox and D’Onofrio do cameo, but a full-fledged Daredevil reboot in the midst of somebody else’s solo project isn’t the way to do it.