Marvel Studios released the first trailer and poster for Echo yesterday, and have since confirmed the TV-MA series will fall under a "Marvel Spotlight" banner. It's all part of an effort to tell different types of stories and ones which don't necessarily have connective tissue to other movies and TV shows.
It does appear Echo will lead into Daredevil: Born Again, but beyond that, we're expecting a largely standalone tale.
Talking to Marvel.com, executive producer and director Sydney Freeland talked about exploring Maya Lopez's past after her debut in Hawkeye and the fact fans can expect a deep dive into the MCU's past.
"We're going to delve further into the drama of this family and how they've all dealt with [situations] over the past 20 years," the filmmaker teases. "We have this sort of two-pronged approach, there's this family drama sort of driving everything. But then there's this undercurrent of this fantastical side, which is that we are going to be visiting Maya's matrilineal ancestors, going quite a bit backward in time."
"Those two things, this family drama and these ancestral stories that we're going to see, are going to come head-to-head."
The family member many of you will be most excited to see, of course, is Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. the Kingpin of Crime. Maya shot him in the head in Hawkeye, though this sneak peek confirms he survived (whether his eye did is another matter).
Talking about the unfinished business between the two, Freeland said, "It's one of the core relationships in the entire series, the relationship between Kingpin and Maya, and we'll come to sort of find out that he’s become a kind of surrogate father to her."
"[The creative team] always talks about in the room how Kingpin's superpower isn't a strength. It's his intellect, and it's his ability to psychologically manipulate people."
The runtime for Echo's first two instalments has also been released, and it appears these will be full-length 40+ minute episodes. With all five set to drop in one go, you might want to consider taking the day off if you plan on watching them in a single sitting!
The five-episode streaming event spotlights Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) as she is pursued by Wilson Fisk's (Vincent D'Onofrio) criminal empire. When the journey brings her home, she must confront her own family and legacy.
Echo also stars Chaske Spencer (Wild Indian, The English), Graham Greene (1883, Goliath), Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon, Stumptown), Devery Jacobs (FX's Reservation Dogs, American Gods), Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds, FX's Reservation Dogs), Cody Lightning (Hey, Viktor!, Four Sheets to the Wind) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Hawkeye, Godfather of Harlem).
The series is directed by Sydney Freeland (Navajo) and Catriona McKenzie (Gunaikurnai).
All five episodes of Echo will premiere on Disney+ and Hulu on January 10.