A few months back, we discovered that Marvel Studios was searching for a deaf female, Native American, First Nations, Indigenous or Latinx, 18 or older, to play the role of “Malia” in an unspecified Marvel Studios project set to go into production this Fall. At the time we felt strongly that the role was that of Maya Lopez, aka Echo, and that she was most likely to appear in Hawkeye. Today, a new report from the Illuminerdi seems to confirm just that as it indicates that a casting call for Hawkeye featured that same description.
The news, which comes on the heels of learning that the series will also feature Madame Masque, starts to bring the possible premise of the series into focus. We’ve heard that show will deal with the repercussions of Clint’s time as Ronin and now that we know Lopez, who was the original Ronin in the comics, is definitely part of the show, things are starting to crystalize. I’ve long felt and often discussed that Rhodey’s chat with Natasha about the messes Clint had made were more than just filler for Avengers: Endgame. We’ve heard that we’ll see more of Clint in the costume and now it seems that the backstory of Maya Lopez may well be tied to Clint’s time under the mask. Could Lopez be someone that comes back to haunt Clint? Could she have been a protege of his before he met Kate? More questions than answers at this point as we know so little about the series, but with filming starting soon, we should learn more by the day.
Hawkeye seems on track to hit Disney Plus in the Fall of 2021.
