Marvel's Echo Episode Count Confirmed

Marvel Studios has confirmed the episode count for its upcoming Echo series. Marvel will divide Echo into five episodes, all debuting at once, when it launches in January. Echo marks multiple firsts for Marvel Studios. It is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe series to be released simultaneously on Disney+ and Hulu (which Disney recently agreed to acquire outright from co-owner Comcast). It's the first Marvel Studios release under the new continuity-light, character-focused Marvel Spotlight banner. It'll be Marvel Studios' first original series rated TV-MA. It's the first Marvel series to focus on an MCU villain. Picking up after Marvel's Hawkeye series, Echo follows Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) as she remains on the run from the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio).

"We wanted something that, again, if you're coming off of Hawkeye, and you have to keep in mind she's a villain," Echo director/executive producer Sydney Freeland said during the Echo trailer debut event. "She's a villain. And so tonally, we wanted to lean into that. I think in talking with the executives and our approach, and when building visual style, it was sort of like, 'Oh yeah, lean into that, lean into that.'"

With the TV-MA rating and focus on street-level characters over MCU continuity, Echo could be the return of Netflix-style dark and gritty Marvel television that fans of Marvel's Daredevil and the other shows from that era may love. Echo will include some references to Marvel's Daredevil as well. Some already popped up in Friday's Echo trailer.

"I dunno if I can say this, but I love the Netflix Daredevil, it's great," Freeland said. "And so we certainly took, obviously the Daredevil fight, it was a little bit of a nod to that series ... But then also we wanted very adamantly to show that these are people in our show. They bleed, they die, they get killed, and there are real-world consequences. And again, talking, it's not the fate of the universe at stake because I think once you go that broad, you can sort of lose sight a little bit. And so that kind of dictated the tone a little bit. So I guess to answer your question, it was a conversation, but it wasn't that reason."

The timing of Freeland's comments about the Netflix Marvel shows is noteworthy. Kevin Feige recently clarified what is and isn't Marvel Cinematic Universe canon but hinted that those lines may blur as the Multiverse Saga continues.

Marvel's Echo Cast

Echo stars Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo and Vincent D'Onofrio as the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk. The show's supporting cast includes Chaske Spencer, Graham Greene, Tantoo Cardinal, Devery Jacobs, Zahn McClarnon, and Cody Lightning. Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie directed the series.

According to Marvel Studios' official synopsis for the series, Echo spotlights "Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) as she is pursued by Wilson Fisk's (Vincent D'Onofrio) criminal empire. When the journey brings her home, she must confront her own family and legacy. "

All five episodes of Echo will debut on Disney+ and Hulu on January 10th. Fans can see Alaqua Cox in action as Maya Lopez in Marvel's Hawkeye, which is streaming now on Disney+.