Marvel Studios’ Echo is set to release in its entirety on January 9, 2024, but there are five previous Marvel projects that need to be watched prior.

Five previous Marvel Studios and Marvel Television projects need to be watched before the release of Echo on Disney+. Following her debut in Phase 4’s Hawkeye, Alaqua Cox was confirmed to be reprising the role of Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo, in the MCU’s Phase 5. Marvel Studios’ Echo is set to release all five of its episodes simultaneously on Disney+ on January 9, 2024, marking a new release technique for Marvel Studios, as previous shows have released episodes weekly. Created by Better Call Saul’s Marion Dayre, Phase 5’s Echo series will be the first TV-MA rated project in the MCU, and the first to release under the Marvel Spotlight banner.

Following the events of 2021’s Hawkeye, Marvel Studios’ Echo series will see Maya Lopez return to her hometown in Oklahoma. There, she will come to terms with her past, investigate her tumultuous relationship with Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin, rediscover her Native American roots and learn the value of family and community. The MCU’s Echo is also expected to feature Maya Lopez getting superpowers similar to those exhibited by her Marvel Comics counterpart, and will mark the returns of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil, and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin. Despite being a Marvel Spotlight series, five previous Marvel projects will need to be watched to best understand Echo’s storyline.

Daredevil Released On Netflix Between 2015 & 2018

In a 1999 Marvel Comics storyline, Maya Lopez was introduced as a supporting character to Daredevil, and she later became a love interest to the masked vigilante. This perhaps hints at Charlie Cox’s Daredevil having a pivotal role in the MCU’s upcoming Echo series, and since the pair can be seen sparring in recent clips promoting the show, prior knowledge of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen will be essential. Charlie Cox first appeared as blind attorney Matt Murdock in Marvel Television’s Daredevil on Netflix, where he was revealed to also use his superhuman senses to operate as the vigilante Daredevil, primarily engaging in battle with Kingpin, the Punisher and Bullseye.

Charlie Cox’s Daredevil was crucial to Netflix’s Defenders Saga, but after the cancelation of these shows in 2018 and 2019, his future in the MCU was left unclear. The canon status of Daredevil to the main continuity of the MCU has been disputed, with some believing the Marvel Television shows to be set in the same universe as the MCU’s official stories, while others have cast doubt on this idea. Nevertheless, Cox did reprise the role of Matt Murdock’s Daredevil in the MCU’s Phase 4, and has made several cameo appearances ahead of his solo Disney+ series, Daredevil: Born Again, with Echo​​​​​​​ set to mark his next adventure.

4Hawkeye Season 1 Introduced Maya Lopez To The MCU

Hawkeye Debuted Alaqua Cox & Vincent D’Onofrio In The MCU

Hawkeye is perhaps the most important MCU project to watch before Echo releases on Disney+, as the 2021 series introduced Alaqua Cox to the MCU as Maya Lopez. Maya Lopez posed a small-scale threat to Clint Barton and Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, seeking revenge for the murder of her father at the hands of Ronin, Clint Barton’s vigilante identity during Avengers: Endgame’s five-year-long Blip. Maya led the Tracksuit Mafia on the hunt for Ronin, but her surrogate uncle, Wilson Fisk, had more nefarious intentions during the Phase 4 series. Along with Charlie Cox’s return from Netflix’s Daredevil, Vincent D’Onofrio also made the move to the MCU proper as Kingpin.

Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio aren’t the only actors from Marvel Television’s Daredevil who have been confirmed to be returning in the MCU proper, as Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher, has also been announced, though he isn’t expected to debut until Daredevil: Born Again.

After learning the truth that Kingpin himself had ordered the murder of her father, Zahn McClarnon’s William Lopez, Maya Lopez shot her “uncle” Wilson Fisk in Hawkeye’s series finale, explaining the supervillain’s eyepatch in Echo’s recent trailers. Echo will explore some of Maya Lopez’s backstory and history with Wilson Fisk, revealing more about their strained connection while she also investigates her true family background. The fact that Echo was a minor antagonist in Hawkeye suggests that she will continue down this morally-gray route in Echo and subsequent MCU projects, becoming more of an antihero rather than a bona fide superhero, much like her Marvel Comics counterpart.

3Spider-Man: No Way Home Brought Daredevil Into The MCU Proper

Charlie Cox Made His First Official MCU Appearance In Spider-Man: No Way Home

Although Charlie Cox’s future as Daredevil was left unclear following the cancelation of the Daredevil series, he reprised the role in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, making a brief appearance as Peter Parker’s attorney. Cox’s arrival in the MCU proper came as a shock, and raised questions about the canon status of Netflix’s Marvel shows. Nevertheless, Cox’s debut as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home was hugely exciting, and though he doesn’t have a large role in the Phase 4 team-up project, acting only as the attorney Matt Murdock and not as the vigilante Daredevil, this would still be a great story to rewatch prior to Echo’s upcoming release.

2She-Hulk: Attorney At Law Season 1 Developed Daredevil Ahead Of Echo

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law Featured Daredevil’s New MCU Costume

Following his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock then made the move to Los Angeles for a cameo appearance in 2022’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Initially being introduced as the attorney Matt Murdock again, this time representing Jennifer Walters’ costume designer, Cox soon suited up as Daredevil in a new yellow-and-red costume. Daredevil has been seen in Echo’s trailers back in his fully-red get-up, suggesting his She-Hulk suit may have been short-lived. Even so, it’s possible Echo could see Matt Murdock mention his antics with fellow superhero She-Hulk, and potentially even further establish the pair’s relationship in the MCU’s Phase 5.

1Marvel’s What If…? Season 2 Featured An Echo Cast Member

Devery Jacobs Voiced Kahhori In What If…? Season 2

Devery Jacobs joined the cast of Marvel Studios’ Echo in April 2022 in an undisclosed role, that has since been revealed to be Bonnie, a child of deaf adults (CODA) and Maya Lopez’s cousin. Coincidentally, Jacobs also voiced the MCU original superhero Kahhori in December 2023’s What If…? season 2, who became one of the MCU’s most powerful heroes after being empowered by the Space Stone, though Jacobs has noted that the characters are not related. Even so, rewatching What If…? season 2 can provide insight into Jacobs’ dedication to her craft, particularly her embracing of Native American culture and language, which is expected to be hugely important to Echo.