The show is called Echo, but the trailer ought to be called Kingpin: The first forty seconds of this less-than-two-minute trailer are mostly about Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) and his violent tendencies. Any questions you may have about why he’s beating up hot dog vendors outside a school will go unanswered.
Also, the show—like so many things—has been pushed back, and now arrives in January.
Echo is, ostensibly, the story of Echo, aka Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), who we saw in Hawkeye (all the way back in 2021). It is, as is often noted, the first superhero series to focus on a deaf, Native American lead; it is also now the first Marvel series with a TV-MA rating, which this trailer really, really leans into. It is hard to come away from it with much more than a sense that Maya’s life is absolutely full of violence and trauma. It is much harder to know how well Marvel will handle that.
A Variety piece that arrived along with the trailer gives executive producer and director Sydney Freeland a lot of time to talk about what she brought to the show, and how the cast and crew worked to “ensure a high level of authenticity during production.” It’s very welcome, and very promising, and at least Marvel is no longer dumping the show all at once on the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is what the previously announced release plan was.
But anyone who’s been paying attention to Marvel’s many creative issues could be forgiven for being a little skeptical after this trailer, which primarily promises punching, guns, pain, and more punching. According to Variety, the show “will delve into Lopez’s matrilineal ancestors” and “track how a ‘seismic event’ in Lopez’s family, and the ensuing trauma, leads the character known as Echo on her path toward Wilson Fisk.”
The cast is excellent, and includes Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds), Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves) Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon), and K. Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs). (Freeland was also a writer and director on Reservation Dogs.) You also might notice a familiar figure in a red mask if you look closely at around the 1’26” mark.
With the release date now months away, hopefully more trailers will give a better sense of Echo’s story. Echo premieres January 10th on Disney+ and Hulu (where it will be available through April 9th). Alas, it is still an all-episodes-at-once drop, and there are only five episodes.
