The Echo series debuted on Disney+ on January 9. While the critical reception for the show is mixed, it’s mostly positive, and the praise for Alaqua Cox’s performance as the eponymous Native American character has been widespread.
Cox first appeared as Echo, AKA Maya Lopez, in 2021’s Hawkeye series. The actress is indigenous, deaf, and an amputee with a prosthetic left leg, so her casting has been fantastic for improving diversity, equality, and inclusivity in the entertainment industry.
That said, as her MCU role is her first acting job and she’s still raw, some actresses could do an even better job playing the character than Cox. It’s time to look at six who would’ve been great in Echo.
6. Amber Midthunder
Amber Midthunder is an American actress of Thai-Chinese and Native American descent. She’s performed on camera since 2001 and is 26 years old – the same age as Alaqua Cox. While her credits are extensive, 2022’s Prey, the Predator prequel, is her most famous role. She played the main character, Naru, a young Comanche warrior who protects her tribe against the formidable feral Predator. She’s superb and displayed her action chops impeccably in a starring role. She’d make a stunning Echo, of that, there’s no doubt.
5. Kaniehtiio Horn
Canadian actress Kaniehtiio Horn was brought up on the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve by her Mohawk mother, fashion model, and political activist Kahn-Tineta Horn. For those unfamiliar with Horn, watch the 2017 survival horror Mohawk, and it’s easy to see why she’s perfect for the role of Echo. In that film, Horn played Okwaho, AKA Oak, a young Mohawk woman who takes revenge on the American soldiers who shot her. She is terrifying in the brutal role and would be terrific as Echo. At 37, she is still a suitable age to do so.
4. Tasya Teles
Another Canadian actress, 38-year-old Tasya Teles, was born to a Canadian mother and a Brazilian father, giving her a complexion that fits Echo’s. The name “Echo” isn’t unfamiliar to Teles, as she’s played a character called that in The CW’s The 100. Also known by her birthname Ash, Echo is a formidable fighter who was a member of Azgeda’s royal guard. With some ruthless kills to her name, Echo’s portrayal by Teles is proof enough that she’d be more than capable of adeptly playing Marvel’s character of the same name.
3. Devery Jacobs
Devery Jacobs has a role in Echo – she plays Bonnie, Maya Lopez’s cousin who is more like her sister. In season two of What If…?, she also voiced the newly introduced Mohawk character Kahhori, proving she can brilliantly portray a leading superhero (she wants to play the character in live-action). Jacobs is a Canadian Mohawk actress who starred in the indigenous Hulu series Reservation Dogs as Elora Danan Postoak. The 30-year-old has far more performing experience than Cox, meaning she’s better equipped to play Echo than the show’s leading lady.
2. Julia Jones
Julia Jones may be much older than Alaqua Cox at 42, but she still has a youthful and athletic look suitable for playing a superhero. Jones is an American actress with Native American ancestry, most famous for playing Leah Clearwater in The Twilight Saga movies, Kohana in HBO’s Westworld, and Police Chief Angela Bishop in Showtime’s Dexter: New Blood. Not only does that give her experience in action environments, but she also gained superhero production experience when she appeared in 2010’s Jonah Hex. Her Echo would be genuinely intriguing.
1. Grace Dove
32-year-old Canadian actress, director, and television host Grace Dove has relished the opportunity and responsibility to elevate the profile of indigenous women in the entertainment industry, regularly speaking up about underrepresentation and doing all she can to change that. Alongside Hillary Swank, she’s the star of ABC’s crime drama Alaska Daily, where she plays an unflinching roving newspaper reporter.
Dove also co-hosted the reality action-adventure show UnderExposed and appeared in the Academy Award-winning The Revenant. A representative of the Secwepemc people, Dove is a real-life superhero to indigenous actresses. Her determination and all-action personality would make her a fantastic Echo.
