Tag: Marvel TV

  • Hailee Steinfeld Talks Working With Vincent D’Onofrio in ‘Hawkeye’ Finale

    Hailee Steinfeld Talks Working With Vincent D’Onofrio in ‘Hawkeye’ Finale

    The upcoming finale of Hawkeye has everyone’s eyes on it. Not only will it tie up one of Marvel Studios’ most grounded storylines, but also finally reintroduce Wilson Fisk a.k.a. the Kingpin into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Theoretically, he was already confirmed in the last episode, but Vincent D’Onofrio gets to actually showcase his character in the series. We don’t know how true he’ll stay to his performance in Daredevil, but it’s such an exciting prospect and we only have to wait a few more days.

    Luckily, to tie us over, Hailee Steinfeld has offered a tease that her character, Kate Bishop, will come into confrontation with the actor. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she talked about what it’s like to act opposite of D’Onofrio and teases the presence he’ll once again bring to the role, which is quite promising.

    It’s a very different experience standing underneath Vincent and hearing him. To be in his presence is really something… I’ve been a fan of his for a very long time. It’s always amazing to be a part of something with people that you really admire. I’m excited to see people watch it unfold.

    Hailee Steinfeld

    We are certainly excited, as many long-time Daredevil fans have been waiting for the character’s grand return. So, not only knowing Kate will confront the character, especially as Steinfeld highlights that “this is somebody that she doesn’t know much about but she’s been warned. She knows everything she needs to know when she hears Clint say ‘this is the guy I’ve been worried about the whole time.’ That right there is enough for her to need to come to her senses and figure out how to handle the situation” So, it’ll be interesting to see just how this turns out.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • EXCLUSIVE: Yssa Mei Panganiban on Being A Filipina Black Widow

    EXCLUSIVE: Yssa Mei Panganiban on Being A Filipina Black Widow

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be 13 years, 27 films, and 5 TV shows deep but even Kevin Feige‘s billion-dollar franchise has its fair share of ‘firsts’ this late in the game. Case in point, this week’s episode of Hawkeye that gave Filipino audiences a Black Widow of their own. Yssa Mei Panganiban, appears as Sonya, a Black Widow working alongside Florence Pugh‘s Yelena Belova in a mission to save the remaining brainwashed Black Widow assailants in the world.

    We got to speak to Panganiban about her experiences working on the set with directors Bert and Bertie, Florence Pugh, and what it’s like to be a Filipina in the MCU.

    The works of directing duo Bert and Bertie have been unanimously praised by fans these past 3 episodes of Hawkeye, prompting some fans to rally behind the call to have the duo direct the next Spider-Man films. Panganiban had nothing but nice words to say about the duo, who made sure her first time on a Marvel set was a warm experience.

    Everyone on set was so kind. They mentioned to me, “This is your first time? It’s not gonna be your last time for sure.” They were so sweet because at the time, I had no credits on IMDB but they just said, “That doesn’t matter to us.” The fact that Marvel took so many green artists onboard for Hawkeye was unbelievable. They were super kind enough to bring me on.

    Florence Pugh makes up most of Episode 5’s memorable moments, sharing the screen with not only lead Hailee Steinfeld but also Panganiban herself. The two share a very intense fight scene with another Black Widow named Anna yet filming that sequence with Pugh was anything but, according to Panganiban.

    She’s so kind. Yelena and Florence are kind of the same person in terms of their humor. It was really lovely working with her. She hyped me up the whole time. I let her know it was my first time on set. She was so supportive the entire time. When I wrapped, she had everyone clap for me. She was just the kindest soul.

    Sonya is one of a handful of Filipino characters to appear in a speaking role in the MCU, with the most notable ones being Dave Batista‘s Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy and Jacob Batalon‘s Need Leeds in the Spider-Man series. For Panganiban, she hopes for the role to resonate among her Filipinx peers who want to see more of themselves in the industry.

    To give Sonya a voice has been so amazing. To be a Pinay Black Widow is so amazing. I hope Filipinos can go, “She has the same skin tone as me. I don’t have to whiten my skin.” I really just want people to feel seen. To feel like they can love themselves as they are. I think that’s the whole thing of being an actor and an artist.

    Our interview can be watched below:

  • ‘Hawkeye’ Directors on the Episode 5 Reveal and What to Expect from Kingpin

    ‘Hawkeye’ Directors on the Episode 5 Reveal and What to Expect from Kingpin

    After briefly teasing him in Episode 3, directing duo Bert and Bertie brought Kingpin into the mix in last week’s episode of Hawkeye. The big boss made a brief appearance in the episode’s closing moments when it was revealed that Kate’s mom was acquainted with him (it was also revealed that she hired Yelena to kill Clint, which seems like something we all should have known by then).

    Now that Kingpin, played once again by Vincent D’Onofrio, is actually in the picture, things look like they’ll get even more complicated for the Hawkeyes. Bert and Bertie talked to Insider about the reveal and what Kingpin’s presence means as the series prepares to wrap up in Episode 6.

    The “how” of the reveal, the grainy still frame from a video sent to Kate by Yelena, was a major point of conversation following the episode. Bertie addressed the intro and its fulfillment of all the theories fans shared online leading up to it:

    We kinda loved that it was this grainy, grainy impression of him and just confirms everyone’s suspicions because there have been lots of theories and that one’s been the outstanding theory about who this was. It’s Marvel. There’ve been different iterations of how Kingpin was revealed and this is the one that served the story, to hold him back to the very end of five.

    Bert expounded on Bertie’s thoughts, saying, “There’s something about the simplicity of the simple tease,” said Bert about revealing the connection between Kingpin and Eleanor before cutting away at the end of Episode 5. “It was an interesting twist that she was there in the room with Kingpin,” she added, before teasing that the “possibilities are endless.”

    Of course, now that Kingpin has finally been revealed, the big question is whether or not this character is the same one fans met on the the Netflix’s Daredevil. Turns out Marvel is in no hurry to answer that question for fans. When asked by Insider if Fisk was the same Fisk from Daredevil, Bertie replied, “Tune in on Wednesday for episode six.” And so we wait one more week.

    Source: Insider

  • ‘What If…?’ Season 2 Noticeably Absent in Disney+’s 2022 Line-up

    ‘What If…?’ Season 2 Noticeably Absent in Disney+’s 2022 Line-up

    Disney+ just released a special teaser including every series and film that’ll release on the platform in 2022. It finally confirmed that I Am Groot, the animated spinoff of the Guardians of the Galaxy, would premiere next year. Yet, there’s one noticeable absence in the line-up. After teasing that What If…? is planned as an annual release, there’s no sight of the series’ confirmed the second season in the released teaser list. It’s uncertain how far along they are on the second season, but it would seem we shouldn’t expect it until the earliest of 2023.

    Of course, there’s the possibility that they are prioritizing one animated project per year, as such they gave I Am Groot the release spot. They might also announce it as a later addition at one point down the line, but it is curious that there’s no mention of it. They might’ve decided to change-ups strategies, as producing an entire season every year for the series might be a much larger uptaking than initially expected. We’ll see if any other announcements arrive later on, as The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is also absent in the listing. So, we’ll see if this is a definite list or we’ll see some changes throughout the year.

    Source: Twitter

  • Marvel Studios’ ‘I Am Groot’ Confirmed for 2022 Release on Disney+

    Marvel Studios’ ‘I Am Groot’ Confirmed for 2022 Release on Disney+

    A new teaser has dropped teasing the upcoming 2022 line-up. We’ve seen quite a few included, such as the recently announced Eternals release date, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and many more. Yet, there’s an interesting surprise thrown into the mix, as it looks like the Groot-focused Guardians of the Galaxy series, I am Groot, is also slated to release next year. The logo is included in the end as you see the various shows and films from the next year getting promoted. It’s a bit of a surprise as it wasn’t given much focus during Disney+ Day unlike the other projects, but it’s definitely an exciting surprise.

    James Gunn has also taken to Twitter to confirm this announcement that was sneakily included in their 2022 line-up.

    https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1471534234976370697

    It’s great to finally get a confirmation on when the series releases. Surprisingly, there was no mention of the The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which would release ahead of its third entry. Perhaps it’ll be made available in January or around New Year to celebrate the holidays and all its intergalactic diversity. We know very little about I Am Groot outside of it going for a hyper-realistic animation style to bring Baby Groot back into the fold. So, here’s hoping we might get a tease in the near future.

    Source: Twitter, Twitter

  • Recast, Reboot, Retire or Reprise: What’s the Right Choice for Other Marvel Netflix Characters

    Recast, Reboot, Retire or Reprise: What’s the Right Choice for Other Marvel Netflix Characters

    With Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox reprising their respective roles as Kingpin and Matt Murdock this week and rumors swirling that other cast members from the Netflix Defenders-verse series might join them, we decided to take a look at who should come back and who should be left behind. Note that this is not all-encompassing and that there’s no real metric here, much less any consistency. Sometimes we want the actor and not the role; other times we want the role but not the actor; other times we want neither. To make it easy, we cast a verdict on each character: recast the role, reboot the character with the same actor, retire the character or have the same actor reprise the same role. Because the world is hard, sometimes had to pick more than one.

    The Big 4

    Each of the following actors led at least 2 seasons of a solo series on Netflix as well as popping up in either Defenders or another series.

    • Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle
      Whether or not Marvel Studios plans on using the Punisher in the near future is certainly a great topic for debate, but that debate is for another day. The topic here is whether or not Bernthal is the man for the job should they chose to bring the character into the MCU and, fortunately, there’s not much of debate to be had. As he almost always does, Bernthal inhabited the role of Castle in a way that many actors just couldn’t do. If we are going to see the Punisher again, it has to be Bernthal.
      Verdict: Reprise
    • Mike Colter as Luke Cage
      Colter is a case of Netflix missing the mark on why they cast the character. Colter is a solid actor. His work on CBS’s Evil has been excellent; however, he seems to be, in general, more comfortable in roles that require a more subdued persona and, to me, that’s just not Luke Cage. If Cage is coming back, the actor has to have BIG energy and charisma. The man lead the New Avengers and as much as I love Colter, I can’t see him effectively convincing Dr. Strange, Spider-Man and Captain Marvel that they should be following his orders.
      Verdict: Recast
    • Finn Jones as Danny Rand
      In a shared universe that includes Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, there’s simply no place for Jones as the Iron Fist. While part of the problem with the character was the way he was written (Rand should be able to kick multiple asses all the time without ever having to use the Iron Fist), it’s impossible to give Jones a pass. He notably didn’t want to train and he’s also just not that great of an actor. If they give Rand another chance, it has to be with another actor.
      Verdict: Recast
    • Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones
      Ritter’s situation is nearly the opposite of Colter’s in that the role of Jones fits her specific talents incredibly well. She looks the part and believably acts the part. While the series ended on a really poor note, Ritter’s time as the character would make it incredibly hard to imagine someone else in the role.
      Verdict: Reprise

    The Supporting Cast

    Simone Missick: Actress, Misty Knight in Netflix's Luke Cage | Howard  Magazine

    Each of these characters played a major, supporting role in at least one season of the Defenders-verse series.

    • Vondie Curtis-Hall as Ben Urich
      After giving one of the best performances in Season 1 of Daredevil, Curtis-Hall didn’t get a chance to come back in the role because, well, Kingpin killed off the character. One of the best cases we can make for why the Netflix series should not be canon is so Curtis-Hall can return in a role that could expand beyond Daredevil’s stories and into the greater MCU.
      Verdict: Reprise
    • Rosario Dawson as Clarie Temple
      Keep the actress, ditch the character. Dawson is lights out in pretty much everything she does. Fans would love to see her jump into a bigger role like Mahershala Ali, who starred in Luke Cage, was able to do. Sorry, Claire, you stay behind, but bring Rosario into the MCU in a new role.
      Verdict: Retire
    • Scott Glenn as Stick
      One of the most unforgivable offenses made by Netflix over the course of their Defenders-verse series was their portrayal of the Hand. As Charles V. has said over and over again, “it’s really hard to screw up undead ninjas”, but they did it. If there’s one Daredevil-centric thing they could fix that would really spice up the whole MCU, it’s the Hand. And if the Hand is back, Stick should be back and if we’re getting Stick, it’s gotta be Scott Glenn.
      Verdict: Reboot
    • Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson
      Foggy is such an important part of the story of Matt Murdock that he absolutely must be involved in whatever stories are told going forward. Henson, however, never seemed the right fit and it’s almost certain a recast would land better with fans.
      Verdict: Recast
    • Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing
      Henwick was one of the brightest stars over the two seasons of Iron Fist. It was recently revealed that she had to pass on a role in Shang-Chi in order to land her role in the upcoming Matrix sequel, so obviously Marvel Studios is keen to work with her again. Henwick should absolutely be in the MCU. Whether that’s as Collen Wing or in another role is the question. Should she enter into the MCU in another role, that would really make it hard to consider Iron Fist “canon”, however. There is certainly a great Daughters of the Dragon story to be tole with Wing and Misty Kinght, should they want to keep Henwick in a version of the same role.
      Verdict: Reprise
    • Simone Missick as Misty Knight
      Speaking of…Missick was dynamite as Misty Knight, bringing some of the charisma to Luke Cage that Colter did not. Seeing Missick return as Knight, perhaps to team up with Sam Wilson as she has recently in the comics would be fantastic.
      Verdict: Reprise
    • Debra Ann Woll as Karen Page
      The vote here is no, but not for the reasons you might think. Woll was great as Karen Page. She was better than great. But as the story of Matt Murdock/Daredevil moves on, Marvel Studios would be wise to move away from the dark, Frank Miller inspired arcs that we integral to the Netflix series and adapt some other authors’ work. Modern day runs by Charles Soule and Mark Waid would top the list and wouldn’t require more of Page, a character whose continued story would only continue to drag Matt through Hell.
      Verdict: Retire
    • Elodie Yung as Elektra
      Yung checked all the boxes as Elektra: sleek, sexy, dangerous and talented. If they should choose to do another story with the Hand or just with Elektra, it’d be hard to find someone who both looked and played the part as well as Yung. Bring her back!
      Verdict: Reprise

    The Villains

    David Tennant Would Love Purple Man to be in an Avengers Movie
    • Wilson Bethel as Bullseye
      Bethel’s time as Bullseye was just getting started when the plug was pulled on the Defenders-verse. He gave a great portrayal and would be fully capable of holding his own on screen again with Cox. Bring back Bullseye and bring back Bethel.
      Verdict: Reprise
    • Alice Eve as Typhoid Mary
      Eve seemed like an out of place casting at the time, but she did fine in the role. Moving forward, however, it seems appropriate to have an entirely different version of the character and I don’t think anyone would be upset to see a new actress in the role.
      Verdict: Reboot and Recast
    • Bob Gunton as Leland Owlsley
      Love Gunton, but he was playing the comic book Owl in the same way that Fra Fee is playing comic book Kazi, which is to say not at all. There is certainly room for the Owl in this newly carved out corner of organized crime in the MCU, but not for this version. A younger actor and totally different characterization are in order.
      Verdict: Reboot and Recast
    • Theo Rossi as “Shades” Alvarez
      You might think that with all the characters and actors we didn’t include on the list, that Rossi is a surprise. He might be but his son, Victor Alvarez, could join the MCU’s other young heroes down the road. Rossi was creepy and slimy in the role. It would only be a bit part if he came back, so let’s see him back so we can get to his much more important offspring.
      Verdict: Reprise
    • David Tennant as Purple Man
      Tennant joins D’Onofrio and Ali in the trinity of great Defender-verse performances as villains. Ali has moved into the MCU in larger role as Blade. D’Onofrio is back. It might be a stretch to bring Purple Man into the current MCU unless the want to do the big Breakout arc from New Avengers, but getting Tennant back on board in that role or any other would be fantastic.
      Verdict: Reprise
    • Wil Traval as Nuke
      Nope. Give us a real Nuke in a future Cap movie. Scrap the actor and forget the character ever existed.
      Verdict: Reboot and Recast
    • Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Marianna
      Zurer was fire as Vanessa. Both the actress and the character were amazing. However, the MCU’s Kingpin isn’t going to have 13 hours of time to tell a bunch of personal stories, so unfortunately, unless we get a Kingpin series, neither Zurer or Vanessa need to make the jump.
      Verdict: Retire

    Make sure to sound off in the comments on who you’d like to see reprise their roles and who you think should be left behind.

  • RUMOR: ‘Hawkeye’s Finale to be Marvel Studios’ Longest Disney+ Episode

    RUMOR: ‘Hawkeye’s Finale to be Marvel Studios’ Longest Disney+ Episode

    So far, Hawkeye has been quite an enjoyable entry in the MCU’s ever-expanding library. It offers a more grounded storyline as Clint Barton faces the underbelly of New York City while having to take care of a young protégé. Kate Bishop joins him in his fight, as we explore his time as Ronin and the regret that is included with it, as well as the loss of his closest friend. Of course, can’t forget the addition of Yelena Belova to follow up her story from Black Widow and the confirmation of Vincent D’Onofrio‘s return as Wilson Fisk.

    There’s a lot to unpack going into the finale and it seems the team behind the series is very aware of this. As it seems the upcoming sixth episode may be the longest of any Marvel Studios series. According to Amit Chaudhari, who has reported the length of episodes in the past, the final episode will not only be the longest of the series but also every Disney+ entry so far at 59 minutes.

    It now dethrones Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s fifth episode “Truth” which clocked in at around 58 minutes. Keep in mind that depending on where you live, the credits are longer or shorter due to the international voice cast also getting included. Still, it’s an impressive length and hopefully a sign that we’re in for quite a lot. We still haven’t met Fisk in this series, as he was only showcased through an image on a phone. So, not only do we have to resolve the storylines set-up through both Hawkeyes, Maya Lopez, and the mysterious watch, but also get introduced to the series’ actual villain. It’ll be interesting to see how they wrap it all up with a nice bow.

    Source: Twitter

  • How Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin Could Be an All-New Variant of the Character

    How Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin Could Be an All-New Variant of the Character

    After an Episode 3 tease, the closing moments of Episode 5 of Hawkeye officially introduced Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin into the series as an acquaintance of Eleanor Bishop. Called by name by Clint Barton, Kingpin is the big boss behind the Tracksuits and the “Uncle” of Maya Lopez. Kingpin, as it turns out, is a lot of things but the one thing he is not is the same character from the three seasons of Netflix’s Daredevil.

    When he was first introduced in Season 1 of Daredevil in 2015, Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, was already a major player in the organized crime scene of New York City. Season 1 ended with Fisk in prison from where he began to suspect that Matt Murdock and Daredevil where one in the same. Fisk worked over agent Nadeem, found his way out of Ryker’s and was eventually freed and reunited with is love, Vanessa. The series wrapped following a major fight between Murdock and Fisk that ended with Fisk on his way to prison, again, his organization dismantled and Murdock having enough evidence to make sure Fisk would never see the light of day again, much less regain his status as Kingpin.

    The events of Daredevil Season 3 took place in 2018, shortly before the events of Avengers: Infinity War. We know this Fisk wasn’t Blipped and that at some point between 2018 and 2023, he was a big deal in organized crime in New York and known as Kingpin. While a reasonable argument could be made that Fisk was broken out of prison during that time, him moving around in the open in 2024 and continuing to operate as Kingpin would represent a complete and utter failure on the part of Matt Murdock. By the time Hawkeye takes place in 2024, even if Murdock had been Blipped, he surely could have brought forth enough evidence to get Fisk back behind bars. More to the point, if following the Blip, Fisk was still actively running crime in New York where the one man who could bury him was around (we don’t know if Murdock was Blipped, but we know he’s around at the same time) he’d be a pretty incompetent Kingpin of crime. If this Kingpin is the Netflix Kingpin, the MCU Daredevil is already a moron…and so is the MCU Kingpin.

    Of course fans of the Netflix character came out in droves today to point out just how much this Kingpin looks like the version who rocked the white suits in Daredevil. That version of the character was more of an all-white suit type of guy and, though it’s potato cam quality, that’s not they style of this all-new, all-different version of the character; the version we kind of saw today seemed to be more of an ascot-sporting, cane-wielding and quite possibly shade-of-purple pants wearing type of guy, much like the classic comic book version of the character. I’m not going to go back and rewatch all 39 episodes to make sure, but I don’t recall that Fisk being a fan of neckwear, which he certainly has as part of his ensemble here.

    On the topic of style, Daredevil’s Wilson Fisk was a big cuff link guy. As seen below, he owned two dozen or so pairs of the handy accessories but, as you might remember, fancied one particular pair that he picked off the corpse of his dead father.

    The first tease of this all-new, all-different version of Kingpin came in Episode 3 and, funny enough, they made sure to give us a look at this version’s cuff links.

    And, as it turns out, not only was he not wearing his favorite pair (who doesn’t love wearing stuff that reminds them of the day they murdered their dad with a hammer?), he wasn’t wearing any of those in his possession last time we saw him. If the creators of Hawkeye wanted to send a VERY clear message to the fans of the Netflix Daredevil series, those cuff links would have been on FULL display in that tease. They weren’t because this isn’t that guy.

    What Hawkeye has introduced is (as Loki taught us) a Variant of the character fans met in Daredevil. From what’s been revealed, Fisk didn’t seem to be returning to the “throne” during the Blip; it seems much more likely that he used that time to establish himself as the Kingpin by eliminating the remaining competition, including his best, good friend Willie Lopez. It’s important to note that it only benefits Marvel Studios to continue to obfuscate whether or not this Fisk and the Murdock that appears in Spider-Man: No Way Home are the same characters from the Netflix series. The hype, the discussion and debate only fan the flames of fandom. Maybe next week will deliver a clear answer, but don’t be surprised if the truth isn’t revealed until She-Hulk, or Echo, or never. But for now, there’s certainly enough evidence to rationally argue that Hawkeye has introduced a new version of a classic comic book character whose story is JUST getting started.

  • How Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin Could Be the Netflix ‘Daredevil’ Character

    How Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin Could Be the Netflix ‘Daredevil’ Character

    Finally, after a long wait, Vincent D’Onofrio has made his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While some still believe that the upcoming adaptation will be a soft reboot for the character, there are some curious hints at his character potentially being the same we last saw during Daredevil‘s third season. With Charlie Cox‘s Matt Murdock set to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the upcoming reintroduction of the Netflix characters might finally confirm that the final season of the series is canon.

    Let’s start with the most obvious connection. While not in person, we got our first look at D’Onofrio’s Fisk through a video taken by Yelena Belova. The video quality seems a bit off, but what we can make out is that he’s wearing a similar suit that he wore during the final season of the original series. He has a white suit with a black shirt underneath, which offered a modern take on his comic book version. He seems to be rocking the same style.

    Speaking of, Hawkeye also calls him by the same name that he got during that season. In the first season, Fisk tried very hard to keep his name out of everyone’s mouth. Hell, a man killed himself because he accidentally let that slip and put him on Matt Murdock’s radar. It wasn’t until the final season that he was given a codename Kingpin. Of course, there is the question of how the name that was given to him by Agent Poindexter, the future Bullseye, managed to find its way into the public, but he might’ve loved the weight it could carry.

    So, there are quite a few hints that this is, indeed, a continuation of the original series and hopefully also means we won’t have to wait long for Wilson Bethel to also make a return given the set-up that was left open during the final scene of the series. Of course, Fisk and Murdock’s return does open up the question of when we can expect their arrival and eventual clash. He was arrested during the finale and lost everything, but if Daredevil vanished for five years due to the snap, he had enough time to rebuild his empire without his arch-nemesis being the wiser. Here’s hoping we get some hints in the finale.

  • How ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 5 Sets the Stage for ‘Echo’

    How ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 5 Sets the Stage for ‘Echo’

    Long before fans were introduced to her in Hawkeye, plans were already in place for Maya Lopez to have her own series. That series, Echo, was officially announced on 2021’s Disney Plus Day, but had been revealed by the trades months earlier. Hollywood newcomer Alaqua Cox impressed the Marvel Studios brass early on and will star in the series, tentatively set to go into production next April ahead of a likely 2023 release. While Echo still has a role to play in the conclusion of the events of Hawkeye, Episode 5, “Ronin”, seemed to put some things in place that should dovetail nicely into Echo.

    Thought it’s been obvious since he was first teased in Episode 3, Episode 5 finally put a name and a face to Maya’s “Uncle”: Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, played by Vincent D’Onofrio. Kingpin in the biggest and most important piece on the board. In Episode 5, Clint reveals to Maya that her father’s death at his hands was the result of a setup by Kingpin, who used an informant to tip off Clint to the location of the Tracksuits. While it takes a little more convincing to make Maya believe that Kingpin could have set up her father to be murdered, it’s clear by the end of the episode that Maya’s life is about to head in a totally different direction.

    That extra convincing she needs comes, unfortunately, from an unwitting acknowledgement of the set up by the person closest to her: Kazi. It’s not explicitly stated in the episode, but it’s heavily implied that Kazi may have in fact been the informant that Fisk used to tip off Clint. When pressed by Maya about why someone is his position within the Tracksuits wasn’t at the meeting where her father and others were killed, Kazi gives a half-baked excuse that Maya clearly doesn’t buy. In a short span of time, Maya is faced with the realization that she’s been betrayed by the two people closest to her.

    As the conversation between Clint and Maya points out, the two characters are similar: deadly weapons pointed at other people. Throughout the series, Maya has been pointed at Clint and Kate; the revelations of Episode 5 will clearly give her new targets, but it seems unlikely given everything a show about Hawkeye(s) has left to accomplish, that fans will have a satisfying conclusion to Maya’s new arc. Rather it seems that Episode 5 serves to set the table for Maya’s continued story in Echo.

    The most pressing unresolved issues for the Hawkeyes all now revolve around Kate’s mom, Eleanor Bishop, who was (in the least surprising twist in modern history) revealed to be the series’ “big bad.” Episode 5 revealed who was on the other end of that phone call Eleanor made last week (Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val) and that she is in business with Kingpin. If that’s not bad enough, she was willing to throw her fiance, loveable doofus Jacques Duquesne, under the bus to save herself! Eleanor is no small fish and while the end of her story in Hawkeye will involve Kingpin and the Tracksuits, it’s her story and the impact it’ll have on Kate that should be the focus of Episode 6. Maya’s new path will certain and obviously intersect with Kate’s (a since-deleted set pic of Maya with Clint proves this), but it now seems much more likely that her involvement in the big “end battle” will more than likely set up her spinoff series and the villains in it.

    When Maya and Kazi part ways in Episode 5, it’s not on good terms. Maya knows he betrayed her and Kazi, who’s much more perspicacious than the rest of the Tracksuits, knows that she knows. With the final battle set to involve Kate, Clint, Maya and the Tracksuits, Maya and Kazi seem destined to face off and Maya is going to have a whole lot of anger to take out on Kazi. This could well become the origin story for Kazi as the Clown. As for Fisk, it’s entirely unlikely that his hands get dirty here. Yes, we’ll see more of him in Episode 6, but it would be very unlike him to get tangled up in a very public fight that ties him to a criminal organization: he wouldn’t be much of a Kingpin if he was involved every time his goons get beat up. That points to him getting to walk away from this and, along with Kazi, being on Maya’s shit list heading into Echo. Unfortunately for Maya, that means she’ll be on his shit list, too, and that’s pretty exciting because Fisk has all sorts of criminals on his payroll that he could send after Maya. I won’t tell anyone if you won’t, but at one point in time, Echo was casting for two white, female roles, one of whom was described as a criminal and one of whom who sure sounded like another criminal. Leaving Fisk to be developed further in Echo is a good, albeit frustrating choice for the studio, that allows for him to continue to be a looming menace until he’s ready for a big-time showdown, perhaps in a future Spider-Man film.

    Ultimately, Hawkeye will do exactly what is was intended to do for Maya Lopez. The character will have a redemption arc and get set on her new path ahead of her own series. While fans might feel slighted at her story not being resolved within the confines of Hawkeye’s 6 episodes, they also have to remember that Marvel Studios is in the business of pumping out content and resolving every story, every time doesn’t lend itself well to that.