Alaqua Cox received a pleasant surprise when she first arrived on the set of the Disney Plus series Hawkeye. The actor told Disney’s D23 magazine (via The Direct) that actor Jeremy Renner learned basic ASL to make her feel welcomed on the set.
“I remember meeting Jeremy on my first day of work on-set; I was a nervous wreck, as this was my very first acting job,” Cox, who is deaf, told D23. “He then complimented me in American Sign Language (ASL), which comforted me,” Cox added. She also went on to say how Hailee Steinfield spelled out her name using ASL, another heart-warming and welcoming moment for the actor. “I thought it was sweet of them putting in efforts to learn basic ASL to communicate with me. It means a lot to me as a Deaf person,” Cox said.
The use of ASL by Renner and Steinfeld when communicating with Cox was another sign to the first-time actor that Marvel was serious about bringing more diversity and accurate representation to their projects. She said she was "so grateful to have this opportunity" to represent the deaf community. Cox portrays Echo, also known as Maya Lopez, who commands the Tracksuit Mafia and can replicate the movements of people perfectly. According to ScreenRant, Echo is the second deaf character ever to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first was Makkari (portrayed by Lauren Ridloff) in Eternals, which debuted in theaters a month before Hawkeye had its debut on Disney Plus.
Echo will play an even bigger role within the MCU television universe. According to ScreenRant, Marvel is currently developing a spinoff series revolving around Echo, with Cox becoming the first deaf lead in a Marvel project. The developing series will also contain the first Native American character to play a significant part of a Marvel series, cementing Marvel’s continued push for more diversity and representation in their projects.
Hawkeye is currently streaming on Disney Plus.