Marvel’s big deal with Disney has seen our screens overwhelmed with MCU content for years now.
Absolute torrents of fresh superhero material seem to hit streaming and cinemas on a near-daily basis, as new television shows, movies, and anthology series provide a glimpse into the inner workings of superhero life. These are nearly all intertwined, within the MCU, thus fleshing out an incredibly rich world — but one that comes with a high cost. It takes a lot of time to watch all those branching shows, and it can be hard to keep track of how they’re all connected.
Take Echo, Disney Plus’ first-ever “Marvel Spotlight” release. The series was released under the banner of “grounded, character-driven stories” that don’t tie directly into other MCU releases. They are intended to provide an adjacent alternative for viewers who want to enjoy superhero content, but without all the strings attached. Echo could pave the way for an alternate kind of content, but it already shares ties with previous MCU projects.
The five-episode first season of Echo hits Disney Plus on Jan. 9, 2024, and continues the story started in 2021’s Hawkeye — thankfully not so closely as to cause confusion for newcomers. Its only five episodes long, and follows Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez as she flees to her hometown in Oklahoma, and reconnects with her Indigenous roots. The surprisingly short debut season is raising eyebrows, as viewers ponder whether the show is self-contained or the start of another MCU legacy.
Will Echo get a season 2 on Disney Plus?
The lead character in Echo, Maya Lopez, was first introduced to audiences in 2021’s Hawkeye, and her presence as a much-needed celebration of several underrepresented groups made the character an instant standout. Maya is a deaf citizen of the Choctaw nation, and her actress — Alaqua Cox — is an amputee with a prosthetic leg. She represents a huge swathe of typically ignored groups, and her character may serve to pave the way for more characters of the sort.
That being said, no confirmation of more Echo has come down yet. The show’s first season was reasonably popular, racking up a 70 percent Tomatometer score, but the overlords at Disney and Marvel still haven’t renewed the series for another season. That, paired with a lukewarm update from season 1 cinematographer Kira Kelly, is stoking concern that Echo was a single-season offering.
Kelly expressed uncertainty about Echo‘s future, but gushed over the potentials for lead Alaqua Cox to return to the MCU. Noting that she’s “not sure about” a season 2, Kelly added that “anything that we can see Alaqua [in] would be amazing,” before teasing that, while season 2 may never happen, we could see Maya show up in another highly-anticipated Marvel offering.
“Whether it’s another season for her or whether or not she’s in the Daredevil show coming up or any other show. I would just love any excuse to see Alaqua perform again,” Kelly said.
It might not spell good news for Echo‘s future, but at least it seems Marvel has plans for Maya. The character’s become much more popular in the wake of Hawkeye and Echo, and — even if her standalone never earns another season — it would be criminal to remove her from the franchise entirely.