“Echo” director says new Marvel show will lean into violence, explore the meaning of family

Sydney Freeland says the street-level superhero series contains at least one set piece "never been seen before on film."

It’s time for something new in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The once-dominant superhero franchise has struggled mightily this year, with last month’s theatrical release The Marvels posting the series’ worst-ever box office performance. But the first new Marvel series of 2024, Echo, is doing things differently.

“People say it's all been done before, but there's a set piece in the second episode that I can honestly say has never been seen before on film,” Sydney Freeland, an executive producer and director of Echo, tells EW. “A big part of that came from our collaboration with the Choctaw Nation.”

Echo stars Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez, who previously made her Marvel debut in the 2021 Disney+ series Hawkeye. In that story, Maya sought revenge against Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) for killing her criminal father during his days as Ronin. But by the end of Hawkeye, Maya learned that her father’s death had actually been orchestrated by her mentor Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio).

In Echo, viewers will learn more about Maya’s family and her Native American community. The production worked closely with the Choctaw Nation to make sure they were being authentic in their portrayal of Choctaw history and culture.

“In Hawkeye, she had a very close relationship with her father, but we're going to expand on that and show the relationship she has with the rest of her family: her mother, her grandmother, her other relatives,” Freeland says. “And also, within Native culture and Native societies, ‘family’ can have different meanings. You can have someone you're close to, and you're not biologically related, but that's my brother or that's my sister. I've probably got five moms. I've got one biological mom, but I've got four others that are also ‘my mom.’ And so I think between that and the Kingpin relationship, it's all going to be about exploring the definition of family. What does it mean to be related to somebody?”

But Echo won’t just be a story of happy reunions. There’s also a lot of awesome action! And this is another way that the new series differentiates itself from recent Marvel missteps. Because the story’s stakes aren’t at the cosmic level of multiverses or Infinity Stones, Maya gets up close and personal with her enemies.

“Because we're dealing with a story that is more street-level, it is a little more grounded and a little more visceral. We’re leaning into the TV-MA aspect of it,” Freeland says. “One of the big things when I first came on was talking to Marvel and saying, ‘Well, she's a villain in Hawkeye, and to me that's the most interesting thing about her.’ And their response was, ‘Let's lean into that, let's explore that.’”

Freeland continues, “As we progressed through the production, I had the chance to say, ‘Okay so what if this guy gets his head smashed onto the table, and actually loses a couple of teeth?’ That’s the character and that's the world: She's a criminal and she's a villain, she's killing people. And the response was, ‘Yeah, let's try it!’”

Hawkeye was Cox’s first ever screen role, and now she’s gone from being a supporting player alongside an original Avenger to leading her own series. Freeland couldn’t be prouder of the way Cox, who is deaf like Maya, handled her responsibility — and not just in the action scenes.

“I'm so excited for people to see what she can do,” Freeland says. “Yes, we've got fight sequences, but one of the things I'm most proud of from this series is how emotional it is. Alaqua is just the beating heart of this show.”

Echo premieres Tuesday, Jan. 9, on Disney+ and Hulu.

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Related content:

• Kingpin lords over Marvel's Echo in new series trailer

• Maya Lopez returns to the MCU in first look at new Echo series

• Alaqua Cox talks joining the MCU with her mysterious Hawkeye role
  

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