Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk are about to be joined by two more female superheroes on the Disney+ streaming landscape. Marvel Studios has announced production start dates for the Hawkeye spin-off Echo, and the Iron Man-adjacent Ironheart. Production on Echo will begin in January of 2022, with Ironheart beginning shortly thereafter in April 2022.
Echo, aka Maya Lopez, is a deaf superhero who can mimic the movements and fighting abilities of another person. In the comics, she was a member of the Avengers and has frequently worked with other heroes, such as Daredevil and Spider-Man. Echo will be played by Alaqua Cox, who is also deaf, and will be appearing first in the Hawkeye series starring Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld later this year. Her own story will continue in her solo series for Disney+, which appears to have been put on the fast-track.
Ironheart follows the story of Riri Williams, a young genius who is known for building Iron Man-esque armor. Actress Dominique Thorne will be portraying Ironheart, and the series is said to lead right into the previously announced Armor Wars series, which features Don Cheadle’s return as James “Rhodey” Rhodes–aka War Machine. In the comics, Riri builds her own Ironheart suit, is mentored by Pepper Potts in her Rescue persona, and eventually joins a group of young superheroes called the Champions.
It’s interesting to note that Echo, who is a relatively obscure comic book character to begin with, hasn’t even made her live-action appearance in the MCU, yet she is being given her own Disney+ series. Could this mean she’s on her way to becoming a member of the big-screen Avengers? And is Ironheart a precursor to a Champions series? Looks like we’ll have to wait until next year (at the earliest) to find out.
GurlCulture.com 