ECHO Director Discusses Show's Familial Theme, Diving Into the Character's Ancestral Story and More

The Marvel series Echo has gone through some developmental issues since it was announced, with it almost being cut from the lineup at one point, but it’s back on track, and its creators are feeling that the story is as strong as ever. Director and executive producer Sydney Freeland addressed the show’s story and heart at a recent trailer event for the series, attended by ComicBook, where she confirmed that Echo is a villain, and teased some of the darker themes in the series. The post-Avengers: Endgame era of the MCU has featured a lot of characters dealing with grief and trauma, and it sounds like Echo won't be a reprieve from those ideas. 

Freeland shared:

"Thematically, this show is sort of an exploration of trauma, how we deal with it, how we cope with it, how it affects us, how we affect it, how it affects those around us. The theme of the show is very much, we're trying to be street, we're operating a little more on a street level sort of view. These aren't cosmic consequences. It's not the fate of the universe at stake. This is the fate of family. And what we're going to see is sort of the beginnings of the origin for not only Maya Lopez but then also this sort of seismic sort of fracturing event that's going to affect her entire family. And that we're going to see has ripples and consequences throughout the entire show." 

Similar to Ms. Marvel, Echo will also feature flashbacks to the titular character's ancestors. 

"One other thread that I haven't mentioned thus far is that we are also going to be, we have this two-pronged approach to the series. There's this family drama sort of driving everything, but then there's this undercurrent of this, there's sort of a fantastical side, which is that we are going to be visiting Maya's matrilineal ancestors ... going quite a bit backward in time. And that is going to those two things, this family drama and these ancestral stories that we're going to see are going to come head to head."

Freeland also spoke about the importance of representing both the deaf community and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. When asked what was most important to her when making Echo, she said:

"Authenticity, I think, well, I think it started in the writer's room was having very much, it's a multi-pronged approach. It's like we had to have Native representation. That was a must. We had to have deaf representation. That was a must. So it really started within our writers, our writer's room. And then I think with, obviously when I came on board, then we tried to keep that energy going, but we had Native people throughout the behind the scenes and front of the camera as well. But I think another big thing that was important to us is the Choctaw, our partnership with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Early on in the process, once we kind of had our pilot script, we took a trip. It was myself and my department heads, and one of the great things is that none of them have ever been to a pow before."

She went on:

"And I think what I realized in that moment was, which I think rarely happens in my experience with being portrayed in Native films, is going to the people and getting their partnership basically it was crickets on the side of the table and basically I said, 'No, no, we're not here to tell you what we're going to do. We are here to create a dialogue so that we can get your input and create a more authentic portrayal of the Choctaw people and culture.' Because again, also speaking for myself, I'm Navajo, I'm not Choctaw, I don't speak Choctaw, I'm not Choctaw culture, but that was one of the big things that was important for us was creating a dialogue with the Choctaw Nation and getting their support." 

The series centers on Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) as she “struggles to reconnect with her Native American roots while balancing aspirations tied to a life of crime as successor to the brutal legacy of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) aka Kingpin. In the first episode, we are introduced to Maya Lopez and her struggles."

The series also stars Charlie Cox, Zahn McClarnon, Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Cody Lightning, Devery Jacobs, and Graham Greene.

Echo is being released on Disney+ and Hulu on January 10th. The show will leave Hulu on April 9th.