Marvel’s upcoming Echo miniseries set to feature iconic Hamilton actor

Marvel Studios’ latest miniseries Echo is set to feature the long-awaited return of fan favourites like the titular assassin, Daredevil and the Kingpin. It’s also set to include of of the most iconic actors to ever call Hamilton home.

Echo sees the return Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez / Echo. She’s the former head of the Tracksuit Mafia, a street gang under the thumb of Wilson Fisk / Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), a man with whom she has a long, sordid history. During the events of Hawkeye (2021), the avenging archer shuts down the Tracksuits’ New York operations and Echo goes into hiding.

The follow-up miniseries, the first under the “Marvel Spotlight” banner, catches up with Echo as she heads home to Oklahoma to lay low. During this period, she reconnects with her Choctaw roots. She’ll cross paths and trade blows with Matt Murdock / Daredevil (Charlie Cox), a blind attorney who moonlights as a masked vigilante.

Charlie Cox and D’Onofrio also reprise their roles from earlier MCU projects. The pair led Netflix’s Daredevil series from 2015 to 2018 before the show’s premature and much-lamented cancellation. Cox also appeared in the crossover miniseries The Defenders (2017).

The death of Netflix’s corner of the MCU led many to believe the featured characters wouldn’t return. Marvel Studios had a huge gift for Daredevil fans in December 2021 when Kingpin appeared in Hawkeye and a maskless Murdock appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Murdock would also go on to guest star in She-Hulk the following year.

Lopez was also introduced in Hawkeye to set her up for future appearances. Her arc in the series follows her struggle to lead the Tracksuits against Hawkeye and his new protege while learning Fisk, a man she views as a father figure, killed her biological father. She, like Hawkeye, is also deaf, as is Alaqua Cox.

The character was created for Daredevil comics back in 1999 by writer David Mack and artist Joe Quesada. She was initially a love interest for Murdock. Writer Brian Bendis and artist David Finch later reinterpreted her as Ronin during their run on New Avengers.

While the character largely acts heroically in the comics as an Avenger and ally to street level heroes like DD and Moon Knight, the Echo of the MCU is much darker. The miniseries has been described as her super villain origin story.

While Echo is portrayed as Cheyenne in the comics, the show has adjusted that to Choctaw. Alaqua Cox is herself a Menominee and Mohican. The series aims to provide an accurate and informed portrayal of the Choctaw culture and has therefore hired a host of First Nation performers, writers and directors to work on the series, including lead director Sydney Freeland, who is Navajo,

The production worked closely with the Choctaw Nation, presenting them with scripts to go over. Freeland called the process “collaboration in every sense of the word” in promotional materials. Alaqua Cox said the series “was a chance to uplift Indigenous voices and let the world know we’re still here.”

To portray members of the Choctaw Nation of course required a native cast. This includes

• Tantoo Cardinal, a Canadian actress who recently appeared in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.
• Devery Jacobs, a Canadian Mohawk actress best known for her role in Reservation Dogs
• Zahn McClarnon, a prolific actor with appearances in Fargo and Westworld tv series

The cast also includes iconic actor Graham Greene, originally from Six Nation Reserve outside Hamilton. Greene moved to the city and lived there as a young man. He worked several jobs before jumping into acting. His first role came in 1979. He went on to feature in several TV series through the 80s and 90s including Spirit Bay, Northern Exposure and The Red Green Show.

His big break into Hollywood came in 1990 with Dances with Wolves Kevin Costner’s Oscar-sweeping Western epic. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Kicking Bird but lost out to Joe Pesci for Goodfellas.

Greene went on to appear in many other films including Maverick with Mel Gibson and Die Hard with a Vengeance opposite Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. In total, he’s appeared in nearly 50 films over his career, including the acclaimed western crime tale Wind River (2007) which also starred fellow MCU alumni Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch). He’s also appeared in 50 TV series including Reservation Dogs with Jacobs.

All five episodes of Echo drop on Disney+ on January 9. Unlike other MCU projects, it’s rated TV-MA for graphic violence.