The marketing and release strategy for the latest entry in the MCU – Echo, which will premiere in full on both Disney+ and Hulu on December 9th – has been interesting for a few reasons. Well, first, let’s start with two reasons already stated: instead of one episode released week by week as the other MCU shows have gone so far, Echo is releasing its full season all at once. And, instead of just on Disney+, Echo will simultaneously released on Hulu. Echo is also the first MCU property to get designated as “Marvel Spotlight” (we’ll get to that) and the first MCU show to be rated for “mature audiences.” So, yes, there’s a lot going on here.
As for the “Marvel Spotlight” aspect, this is supposed to signify this is a self-contained show, not dependent on any of the other MCU titles, which has been a criticism of recent offerings that it’s been difficult to keep up. And, yes, this is somewhat true that not much else needs to be known, for MCU fans who do like keeping up, within the first half of the debut episode, three major MCU characters show up from other MCU entries. Plus, Echo is a direct sequel to the cliffhanger Hawkeye left us with. And yes, it’s certainly unusual Echo is labeled for mature audiences, the violence isn’t on the level of, say, Deadpool or Logan. But it’s certainly more violent than what we’ve seen from the MCU to this point, which Marvel seems to be leaning into.
As mentioned, Echo picks up where Hawkeye leaves off, with our title character, Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), shooting Wilson Fisk (aka Kingpin, played by Vincent D’Onofrio) in the face, seemingly killing him. Now Maya is on the run, returning to her Oklahoma hometown where trouble also lurks there (again, a good amount of violence in this) as she makes a grand plan to destroy Kingpin’s criminal network for good, while also grappling with her family and her Native American heritage.
Ahead, we talk to director Sydney Freeland (who has directed episodes of Reservation Dogs and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), who helmed the four episodes of Echo, including the first. She shares her thoughts on the way the series is being presented, and why this series, focusing on an anti-hero, the goal was just to tell Maya’s story correctly. Also, she has a wonderful story about Graham Greene.
This does have a different tone as far as the violence. People get shot in the head. when were you told that this would be different than what came before?
Oh, no. I think that just came about organically in collaborating with Marvel. I think just for myself, and watching Hawkeye, one of the most interesting aspects about the character of Maya Lopez was the fact that she was a villain. And then in having the conversations with Marvel, the response was like, “Oh, well, let’s go down that rabbit hole. Let’s see where that goes and let’s see if we can push the envelope a little bit.” So we didn’t set out to make TV-MA show. But we did set out in the process of trying to tell the best possible story – that meant that we didn’t want to shy away from the circumstances of Maya Lopez’s situation. Which meant that she’s a villain and she’s a top-ranking lieutenant in Kingpin’s army. So again, all things sort of stem from the story and the situation.
So when in the process did the idea to label this “Marvel Spotlight” come about?
I think the Spotlight logo really came about from this idea of audiences not making a requirement to have seen 16 other MCU films or television series. And we wanted audiences to be able to come in fresh, come in clean. You don’t have to have done any homework coming into it. But at the same time, audiences who are familiar with the MCU people who are fans much like myself, they’re going to see faces and characters that they will find familiar.
Right, but it’s a spinoff of Hawkeye. So we pick where the big cliffhanger from that leaves off. And within the first 20 minutes of the first episode we see three major Marvel characters. So for people who like things to be connected, saying it’s completely not is not true?.
[Laughs] That is correct.
Okay. But that’s becoming a thing. People are worried they are behind and won’t understand the new thing. So I feel like that’s what they’re addressing? But for the people who like the connection, this is still connected.
That is also correct.
Okay.
What I can say to that is we didn’t set out to create the Spotlight TV show or the TV series. We set out to tell the best story that we could. And again, this is our sort of intention with the show. And we’re doing the best we can with the circumstances that we have. And it will be ultimately up to the audiences to decide whether that works or not. But that’s also a very exciting place to be.
Did you hear about this and go, “Hey, I’d be perfect for this.” Or do they come to you? How does this work?
I think I sort of learned about the project the way everyone else probably did — I saw there was a press release and I saw that Marvel was creating a TV series based on the Echo character. And I had not seen a frame of Hawkeye prior to this, but I just remember thinking like, “Oh, wow, that’s amazing. This is going to be Marvel’s first Native American indigenous character to join the MCU. It would be absolutely amazing to be a part of that, but there’s no way I’m going to get a call.” Fortunately, I was able to pitch on the project and met with Kevin Feige. I got to share my ideas and I was very fortunate to be able to come on board.
So the character of Maya, it seems tricky. Like you said, she’s a villain, but I’ve seen three episodes and I’m certainly rooting for this character, so we can’t dislike her either. So that seems tough.
I think one of the great things about the character is the fact that she’s a villain and, what’s the expression? Any good villain thinks they’re doing the right thing. And so, really, in terms of using that as our touchstone, we really try to tell that story. And then you bring Kingpin into the story as well, too. You get to tell a story that is hopefully a little more grounded and has a slightly different perspective but is no less human in scope and scale.
Speaking of Kingpin. How fun is that character to have around?
Yeah, I think one of the great things about the Kingpin character that we talked about in the writer’s room is that his superpower isn’t his strength, it’s his intellect. And using that as jumping-off point. And then having someone like Vincent D’Onofrio – who we had the good fortune of having him; having had played this character in three seasons of the Netflix show – it just elevated all of our storytelling to a great new, wonderful, complex level.
The Netflix shows, it’s kind of this gray area where they fit with everything, but I’m glad he continued as Kingpin.
Yeah. He is Kingpin, that’s for sure.
Graham Greene has a major role in this show. I’m delighted anytime he shows up in anything. I know it’s not a question, I’m just really happy he’s in this.
As am I. As am I. I was so happy to have him. I’ll share one quick story about Graham.
Alright.
So all of the actors that came on board, when they came on board, there was a sort of process. You had to have your scripts translated into sign language, meet with our sign language master to learn, to do both what’s called SimComming, which is speaking and signing at the same time. And that was a sort of lengthy process. It took a couple of weeks to go through. So Graham, through the circumstances, he had to fly directly from one set to ours into our first rehearsal. So he got picked up at the airport, came straight to set, and I explained to him beforehand it was him and Alaqua. I said, “Listen Graham. Don’t worry about anything in the ASL standpoint. We’ll get you up his speed in the next couple of weeks.” And he said, “Well, let’s just give it a shot.” We went in our first rehearsal of the scene, he had self-taught himself ASL. He was able to have a one-on-one conversation with Alaqua in the scene.
Wow.
But that’s Graham Green for you.
Hey, he’s not an Oscar nominee for nothing. He knows what he’s doing.
They don’t just give those things out.
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