Hawkeye TV Writer Confirms Surprising Character In Latest Episode Opening

Hawkeye has now formally introduced fans to Alaqua Cox's Maya Lopez. The third installment of the MCU Disney+ series began with a series of flashbacks from the character's childhood, allowing viewers to see how she grew up to become Echo, commander of the Tracksuit Mafia in the present day. The rest of the episode explored her vengeful tactics against Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton and Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop.

Lopez's Maya is now even set to get her Disney+ soon in the near future with the recent, official announcement of Echo on Disney+ Day. 

While most of these flashbacks featured Zahn McClarnon as Maya's father, William, a writer for the show recently took to Twitter to confirm that another character - one also involved in modern-day scenes - was also present in one of these flashback moments.

Tracksuit Mafia Member Part of Echo's Pre-Hawkeye Past

Hawkeye writer Tanner Bean, who penned the third episode alongside Katie Mathewson, recently took to Twitter to share insight on "Echoes." In a tweet, he revealed that "In the little kids’ karate scene, the first boy who Maya is watching compete is actually Little Kazi."

Bean went on to mention that "Maya and Kazi’s connection runs deep," as evidenced in scenes taking place in the present which feature the two talking alone.

Kazi & Echo's Deep Connection

While Bean likely wouldn't have been able to give much away about future Hawkeye episodes in his Twitter thread, the tweet about the connection between Maya and Kazi may be one to keep in mind while watching the remaining three installments of the series.

The creative team would not have had Kazi present in the karate scene unless it was significant in some way, and having the two characters talk one-on-one furthers this notion that Kazi is closer to Maya than the other Tracksuit Mafia members are.

With only three episodes of Hawkeye left, there may not be much time to explore this relationship in a deeper fashion, but the upcoming series Echo will likely be able to. So while this may simply remain a fun little tidbit or clue from the writers for now, it, like many other seeds planted in the MCU, may come to fruition in the future in a more meaningful way.

Hawkeye releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.