Marvel Studios just announced a release date for its first 2024 show on Disney+.
While the super-powered brand only has one big-screen effort coming next year, the MCU will still be well-represented on the streaming, kicking things off in January with Alaqua Cox's Echo.
The R-rated streaming show comes as the first under Marvel's new Spotlight branding and will be the first MCU series to release all at once instead of weekly.
Echo Changes Release Dates
A new trailer for Echo revealed the MCU streaming series will debut on Disney+ and Hulu a day earlier than previously announced.
Despite originally being announced with a January 10 release date (per the series' official poster), this latest marketing blast pulled the curtain back on a changed release date.
Instead, the series will all drop at once at 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.
Following in the footsteps of Ahsoka and Loki Season 2, this continues a trend for Disney where the studio has opted to release its tentpole streaming content in the U.S. on primetime on Tuesday evenings instead of at midnight on the West Coast.
Why Is Echo Releasing a Day Early?
Echo marks yet another Disney+ project coming to the service earlier than initially advertised.
While the series is still technically coming out on January 10, it is getting the premiere treatment the evening before for everyone to enjoy all at once.
It is almost akin to Disney movies being listed as coming out on Fridays, but having Thursday night previews for eager fans the night before.
As opposed to just dropping the series at midnight like Disney had traditionally done before, this move allows audiences to enjoy a communal viewing experience while offering Disney a spike in viewership on the platform.
The 6 p.m. PT release time is something more typically seen with premiere cable series like Game of Thrones or The Last of Us, making the release more of an event.
What is interesting about Echo, in particular, is the fact that the whole series is coming at once.
So, while before these earlier releases were used for single episodes of shows (or sometimes two), this will mean fans can watch all five episodes of the series on release night.
Echo debuts on Disney+ and Hulu at 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.
