Alaqua Cox, star of the upcoming Marvel Studios series Echo, has a lot to say about her excitement over joining such a huge franchise. After debuting as the character in Hawkeye, she's got a whole show to herself on the horizon, and she's just as enthusiastic about it as the fans are, if not more so.
Audiences were first introduced to Echo (real name Maya Lopez) when Cox played her on the Disney Plus series Hawkeye. Now that she's got her own spinoff in the works, the deaf actress seems to feel pretty happy with where things have gone for her. Not only does she get to be a superhero, but she also gets to help progress representation for the deaf and Native American communities in mainstream media. In an interview at Disney's D23 Expo, she got to talk about her feelings on it all.
"I never imagined this," Cox said when speaking with Collider during the Expo. "It's Marvel. Being a superhero is a big term and a big word to use, but when I got the role, I was so happy that they hired me because they want to show authentic representation of a deaf and Indigenous person. I'm deaf and Indigenous, so it's just an amazing experience to go through. And getting my own show, it's just been so amazing. My co-workers have been amazing through the entire time, too."
On Hawkeye, Echo was portrayed as an antagonist, though it was ultimately revealed that she was manipulated by Vincent D’Onofrio's Kingpin/Wilson Fisk. In fact, it was during the production of the series that Cox found out that Maya/Echo was getting her own show. "I was like, 'What?!' Hawkeye was my first role, ever," she said, regarding learning about her spinoff. "I wish that they had told me after filming. I had barely figured out what was going on. I was trying to get into the acting world. And then, in the middle of filming, I was like, 'Oh, my gosh!' My mind was blown."
"I texted my family immediately," she continued. "They told me to keep it a secret, but I couldn't do that because I had to tell my family. Of course, I never told Marvel. But I was so excited. It was really a mix. I was overwhelmed, at the time. I was like, "Oh, my gosh, my own show? Why me?" But now it's here and I'm really happy to have this opportunity." Cox's enthusiasm is infectious, and it's hard not to be excited for her and her show after seeing her thoughts on the matter.
Echo doesn't have a solid release date just yet, but it's great to know that there's a show coming up with some great representation for disabled and Native American people. Everybody deserves to see people like themselves on screen, and Cox is helping that idea along in some pretty cool ways.
Echo will premiere on Disney Plus in 2023.
Source: Collider