Marvel Studios might be looking at a possible delay for some of its upcoming Disney+ series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The projects that probably won't hit the platform until next year are Echo, the spin-off of 2021's Hawkeye focused on Alaqua Cox's character, and Ironheart, with Dominique Thorne reprising her role as Riri Williams from last year's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Both shows were scheduled to debut on Disney+ later this year, as announced by Kevin Feige during the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, but Disney CEO Bob Iger's new cost-cutting strategy could impact the upcoming slate for Phase Five.
While the studio was successful last year with series such as Moon Knight or Ms. Marvel, it was clear that most streaming projects from the franchise didn't have enough space to breathe, prompting audiences to quickly jump from one story to the next one. Besides having to compete with one another for the fans' attention, Marvel projects were releasing alongside Star Wars shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor. While it is great for fans of these worlds to have a constant flow of content, general audiences might feel overwhelmed by the increasing amount of Disney+ releases launching very often, and spacing out the upcoming series could help with that issue.
What's The Deal With Echo?
After Maya Lopez (Cox) seemingly escaped from her adoptive uncle Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) at the end of Hawkeye, she returns to her hometown in Oklahoma, where she must come to terms with her past, reconnect with her Native American roots, and embrace her family and community. The show's producer Stephen Broussard recently spoke with Collider's Steve Weintraub, where he discussed how Echo will be tonally different from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, similar to last year's Halloween special, Werewolf By Night.
Dominique Thorne on Playing Ironheart
On the other hand, there's no denying that one of the highlights from Wakanda Forever was the introduction of Thorne as the bright inventor, Riri Williams. While studying at MIT, she saved up in order to build her own Iron Man armor, which she uses to help Shuri (Letitia Wright) fight against Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and his army. In a recent interview with Collider, Thorne talked about her experience with playing the character, including how she wished bits of the movie where Riri and Shuri bonded more hadn't been left on the cutting room floor. The actress also mentioned how she can't wait for audiences to react to her co-stars' performances in the upcoming show.