Echo, the Hawkeye spin-off focused on Alaqua Cox’s anti-hero character Maya Lopez, is currently filming, and it was confirmed on Friday that Reservation Dogs star Devery Jacobs is joining the cast. Cox first alluded to Jacobs via an Instagram story in which she showed off flowers Jacobs sent for the first day of filming. Jacobs’ character is unknown, but is maybe someone called “Julie” and is a lead on the show. It’s an Indigenous queens crossover! Elora Danan and Echo teaming up!
Hawkeye played coy with Maya’s fate, cutting away from the action as Maya seemingly got the drop on Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio). We heard a gunshot but didn’t see anything, which 100% means Maya is the one who was shot, and the show will undoubtedly be about her recovery and redemption arc, to some degree of “good”, as she changes sides from organized crime to being one of the street vigilantes in New York. Alaqua Cox was impressive in Hawkeye, her first screen role, and I look forward to her taking on a larger character role. I also hope they make it a little more obvious that Maya is called “Echo” because she can mimic anyone’s fight style. Hawkeye emphasized her training and natural athleticism, but it wasn’t really clear Maya has an actual enhanced ability that makes her particularly capable as a fighter.
Also, no one is being proactive about the Echo IMDb page, but be aware that there is another Reservation Dogs crossover, this one behind the camera. Dogs writer/director Sydney Freeland, a trans Navajo filmmaker, is also directing episodes on Echo. The showrunners are Etan and Emily Cohen, but I hope there is some real Indigenous representation behind the scenes, bolstering Cox and Jacobs and one of Marvel’s only Indigenous characters. If Reservation Dogs taught us anything, it’s that if you give Indigenous talent a chance, at any and every level of production, they will f-cking DELIVER. I hope Echo has strong roots in the community and isn’t just window dressing for Marvel.
