Unlike my previous exclusive about Ironheart’s working title “Wise Guy”, the one for Echo has me scratching my head a bit. I’m rather curious about what theories people come up with about this one. I have learned exclusively from a trusted source that the working title for Echo is “Whole Branzino.”
A Branzino also called a “European Bass,” is a fish from the Mediterranean that is popular in Italian cuisine. Google it, there are lots of pictures of the whole fish on a plate with lemon and garnish and… Admittedly, I’m not a fan of things looking back at me on my dinner plate, but okay. I guess people like it. In any case, that’s the current working title for Echo folks, served to you on a platter.
After hearing this working title, I researched, and googled, trying to find some sneaky Marvel connection to no avail. You might think that’s crazy to even care about the working titles of these projects, but they really do often contain some hints at something in the project itself and it’s fun to speculate what that is.
For example: “Big Red,” the working title for WandaVision was a reference to Wanda aka the Scarlet Witch, obviously. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s working title of “Tag Team,” seems to me is a reference to the two frenemies becoming a great team within the show. It may also be a bit of a wink and a nod towards the wrestling background of John Walker and Lemar Hoskins in the comics.
So what about Loki’s working title of “Architect” you may ask? Welllll… I won’t spoil it here, but I believe that the architect in question has yet to actually appear in the show. Those of you who are spoiler aficionados out there probably can guess who I’m referring to. In any case, expect to learn who that “Architect” really is by the end of the series.
So that leaves me with “Whole Branzino” as Echo’s working title. But what does it mean?! One guess I have is that perhaps it could tie to the Mediterranean or Italian aspect of it. If this is the case, it might be connected to the series antagonist’s background or location. Or maybe it’s just Maya Lopez’s favorite meal? Probably not, but I won’t rule it out.
The other angle it could be is “Whole Branzino” being a reference to a proverbial “big fish.” In other words, someone, probably the villain of the series, who Echo is trying to catch or take down. Certainly, there is no bigger fish in Echo’s world than the man who both raised her and ordered the murder of her father in the comics, Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin. To be clear, the working title is legit, the speculation I’m dropping here is speculation. But I’d say this is a very intriguing idea for who or what that working title might be referring to. Could a Vincent D’Onofrio return as Kingpin be far off? Only time will tell!
If you have a better guess of who or what “Whole Branzino” could refer to in the Echo series, let me know in the comments or on Twitter!
Echo stars newcomer Alaqua Cox and is scheduled to start production in January 2022. No date for when it hits streaming on Disney+ has been set. Alaqua Cox will first appear as Echo in the upcoming Hawkeye series expected to stream later this year.
