Sometimes, the wait is enough to make you miss the old TV format, when we got 22 episodes of series on a regular (or semi-regular) annual basis. When Loki returns this October, the Marvel series will have been off the air (so to speak) for over two years. He returns—with new directors—October 6th.
And finally, Echo makes her series debut in November. But in a first for Marvel—and a poorly chosen one at that—the studio has opted to release all episodes of the show at once, on November 29.
Sure, that means you can watch Echo in one weekend, should you so desire—and some people will desire to do just that. But releasing episodes week to week allows buzz to build, allows people to catch on as the series progresses, and allows for much greater media coverage. For Echo to be treated differently, especially in the media-heavy fall, is weird.
If forced to guess, I would say that maybe, just maybe, this has something to do with the fact that Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio both appear in the season, and people want to see Daredevil and Kingpin. But this isn’t their show. It belongs to Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), Hawkeye‘s deaf, Native American antagonist-but-not-really. Echo also stars a fantastic lineup of Native American actors, including Zahn McClarnon (Westworld), Devery Jacobs (American Gods), and Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves), and has experienced directors Sydney Freeland (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) and Catriona McKenzie (The Walking Dead) behind the camera. So what gives, Marvel?
Loki, on the other hand, gets the usual weekly treatment. The first Marvel series to get a second season, Loki has changed hands: Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Moon Knight) replace Kate Herron, and Eric Martin (Rick and Morty), a writer on the first season, takes over the head writer role (which is often Disney-speak for showrunner) from Michael Waldron.
Everything about the plot is, of course, top secret, other than that it picks up right after the first season, and according to star Tom Hiddleston, “Loki is back in the TVA and Mobius don’t seem to know who he is.” Ke Huy Quan joins the cast; Sophia DiMartino, Eugene Cordero, and Jonathan Majors return as well.
Loki premieres October 6 and Echo arrives November 29th on Disney+.
