In ‘Echo,’ the new Marvel Studios streaming series on Disney+, we reunite with the title character, aka Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), who we first met in the 2021 series ‘Hawkeye.’ This deaf member of the Choctaw Nation was working in that show as head of the Tracksuit Mafia, a criminal gang operating under the auspices of Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio).
Learning that Fisk was responsible for the death of her father, Maya seemingly took her revenge on her boss and mentor at the end of ‘Hawkeye,’ shooting him in the eye. But as Marvel fans know, the Kingpin is almost impossible to keep down. With Fisk and his organization now after her in ‘Echo,’ Maya heads back to her hometown in Oklahoma, where she works to disrupt the Kingpin’s plans while re-embracing her family, her Native American roots, and her mysterious past.
‘Echo’ is the 10th Marvel Studios series to debut on Disney+ as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Like many other recent MCU offerings, ‘Echo’ has had its share of turbulence: the show was reportedly shot initially as an eight-episode limited series, but was later overhauled and reshot, with its episode count whittled down to five and its release delayed.
Related Article: Marvel’s ‘Echo’ Promises a Darker, Grittier and more Violent Direction for the ‘Hawkeye’ Spin-Off
In its current incarnation, ‘Echo’ may be Marvel’s most violent series yet, with a gritty tone reminiscent of Marvel’s now-defunct Netflix shows like ‘Daredevil’ and ‘The Punisher.’ It’s also steeped in representation of the Choctaw Nation and Indigenous culture, with Marvel – in keeping with its long history in the comics – leading the way on giving marginalized people a seat at the superhero table.
Here are 10 things we learned at the ‘Echo’ press conference from Cox, D’Onofrio, Canadian Mohawk cast member Devery Jacobs, Navajo director and executive producer Sydney Freeland, and Marvel Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation Brad Winderbaum (edited for clarity and length).
1) Alaqua and Maya Have a Lot in Common
A member of the Menominee and Mohican Nations, Alaqua Cox made her acting debut as Maya Lopez in ‘Hawkeye.’ Born deaf like her character, Cox faced other challenges as well, including growing up as an amputee with a prosthetic leg. Lopez says she shares many experiences with Maya.
Alaqua Cox: Well, we’re similar. I was raised with some trauma. We both have childhood trauma, of course, that we’re raised with, and it was different, of course. For example, I am an amputee, so I went through many different kinds of surgeries as a child. That made me a warrior, in a sense. And Maya had the death of her mother and all these tragic events that happened in her life. So we both have different traumatic experiences. It kind of makes us very similar in a way because we’re both warriors, we’re tough, and we’re badass, and I believe that’s how we’re the same.
2) Getting Into Fighting Shape as Maya
Alaqua Cox says her athletic background helped her prepare for the rigorous training she undertook to fight and move like Maya.
Alaqua Cox: Luckily, I grew up playing different kinds of sports. Plus I do have an older brother who helped me become more of an athlete, because he’s very much an athletic person. We’re about a year and a half apart, so we wrestled growing up. That toughened me up. Then, when I did get the role, I had a stunt training team. About five days a week I would go to the training, and it was a lot. I learned so much as well. Growing up in sports, there weren’t a lot of stunt-specific things in sports, so stunt training was a whole new world to me. I was able to learn choreography, jabs, fights, and those specific moves, and that was so fun, and very challenging as well. But that was the greatest part of the project.
3) Why Vincent D’Onofrio Loves Playing Kingpin
Vincent D’Onofrio has played Kingpin now in three Marvel series — ‘Daredevil,’ ‘Hawkeye,’ and ‘Echo’ — and explains why he continues to find Wilson Fisk such a compelling character.
Vincent D’Onofrio: I think that, originally in the comic books, he was also compelling. I’ve just been lucky to get the opportunity, beginning with the Netflix show, with really good writing, to bring him forward in I guess a kind of new way, but just my version of what they did in the original comics. Now in ‘Echo,’ it’s just more good writing. Without the writing, I can’t really do much other than show up. So the writing is there, and it gives me the opportunity to bring the character forward. ‘Echo’ is the first time since the Netflix show when I’ve actually felt like we brought Fisk into Maya’s story, but in a way that Fisk is, I think, best portrayed. It’s very similar to the way it was in the original series. That’s very exciting for me always, because it has a grittier feel to it and it’s a more emotional story with me and Alaqua’s character, Maya. I think that kind of tone is where my character, I believe, lives best.
4) Native American Representation Was Crucial
Director and executive producer Sydney Freeland says that representation and collaboration with the Choctaw Nation was essential for ‘Echo.’
Sydney Freeland: Representation wasn’t something that was “if,” it was always something that was a necessity. So I think one of the things that was important for us was being able to engage with the Choctaw Nation very early on. I remember we came and presented at the Choctaw Cultural Center [in Oklahoma]. Really, for myself, there was two things. One was to ask permission from the Choctaw Nation to be portrayed because I feel like a lot of times what happens with Native and Indigenous stories is that people come in and they say, “We’re going to tell you what the story we’re going to tell.” We wanted to take a different approach. The second part was like, “Can we create a dialogue?” We want to be as authentic in our portrayal of the Choctaw language, the Choctaw culture, the Choctaw experience as we can. That came from the Choctaw Nation. I think a lot of times people tend to jumble all Native American tribes and cultures into this one big kind of monolith, and that’s not the case. Every tribe is different, every language is different, every culture has its own unique specificities. I’m Navajo and we’re telling a Choctaw story, so for me, it was an absolute necessity that we engage the Choctaw Nation to tell that story.
5) Choctaw Art Inspired One of the Show’s Key Relationships
Devery Jacobs (also the voice of Kahhori on Season 2 of Marvel’s ‘What If…?’) plays Bonnie, a child of deaf parents and Maya’s cousin, who stayed behind in Oklahoma to live her life there. Jacobs says that a piece of art was an inspiration for her character’s complex, sister-like relationship to Maya.
Devery Jacobs: We really wanted to make sure that it felt real between myself and Alaqua, that we had that history feel between us, and we did a lot of work beforehand to make sure that that history could be felt. Also, before going to Atlanta to shoot ‘Echo,’ I had a chance to stop in at the Choctaw Cultural Center, which was so beautiful. There was a piece towards the very end — and I’m kicking myself that I can’t remember the artist’s name — that was about these two cousins. There’s an older cousin and a younger cousin, and the relationship between Maya and Bonnie is, even though they’re cousins, it’s almost like they’re sisters. So it was that piece that was really inspiring to me. I remember texting the image to Alaqua and was like, “This feels like this is our characters.”
6) ‘Echo’ Looks Into Maya’s Past
Director Sydney Freeland says that ‘Echo’ reveals more about Maya Lopez’s past as well as that of the Choctaw Nation.
Sydney Freeland: One of the most interesting aspects about the character is the fact that she’s a villain in ‘Hawkeye.’ But then within that, once you start pulling on that thread, you look at where she comes from, and you look at, “Oh, this is a deaf, Indigenous amputee girl from Oklahoma. How the hell does she end up being one of the top-ranking lieutenants in Kingpin’s army?” Answering those questions was such an exciting place to be. Then answering the question, “Well, what is that like when she goes back home?” Just for myself, being Indigenous, being an American, it was such a fun and exciting place to be. Then once you layer the Choctaw cultural specifics onto that, it gave us a chance to tell a really fun story. I think one example of that is actually in the second episode of our series. We have a scene that I think I can honestly say has never been seen on film before: we get a chance to visit pre-European-contact America, and that whole sequence came as a direct result of working with the Choctaw Nation.
7) Why ‘Echo’ is Marvel’s first TV-MA show
Marvel movies and TV shows tend to land almost exclusively in more or less family-friendly territory in terms of ratings (PG-13 for movies, TV-PG or TV-14 for series). ‘Echo’ is the first Marvel show to land a TV-MA rating — the small screen equivalent to an R.
Brad Winderbaum: Well, I think Marvel is at its best when the storytellers follow the character and let the character kind of lead the dance, lead the journey. We knew, as soon as we cast Alaqua in ‘Hawkeye’ and saw what she did on screen in that show, that she would be an incredible character to follow into her journey. You know, ‘Echo’ is a more adult show. It’s our first TV-MA show, but we didn’t set out to make a TV-MA show. We set out to make a Maya Lopez show. This is a character who has a violent past, who’s dealt with some real trauma, who has really difficult decisions to make and ultimately has to confront people she loves in order to grow and change. In following this character, it created the tone. It created a grittier, more grounded story for the audience. That just so happened to be more adult. More TV-MA. But it really was always born from Maya as a character.
8) Vincent D’Onofrio Had An ‘Amazing’ Time Working on ‘Echo’
Despite rumors of extensive reshoots and revisions, Vincent D’Onofrio says that ‘Echo’ was a particularly satisfying experience for him and explains why.
Vincent D’Onofrio: There’s a couple things about this show that were really special. One of them was the fact that Sydney was one of the directors and executive producers. Then there was the fact that the DP was a woman. The writer was a woman. The directors were women. The lead is a woman. It’s one of the smoothest shows that I was ever on in my life. It was run so well. There was never a kink in the day. Nobody ever bumped against anything, not while I was there anyway. It was one of the smoothest productions. The first thing I said to my kids when I got home was, “That was one of the smoothest productions I’ve ever been on.” It was amazing, and that doesn’t always happen.
9) ‘Echo’ Is an Evolution in Storytelling for Native People
Alaqua Cox said that making ‘Echo’ with Native representation, actors, and creators is a major step forward in telling Indigenous stories in Hollywood.
Alaqua Cox: I’m just so proud to be able to represent a platform that is uplifting voices for Indigenous people, and I’m just obviously so excited. I think it’s so great that we have authentic people being picked for these roles, and we’re able to show them on the screen in authentic representation. We’re doing it the right way. That’s what I think is the most important.
Devery Jacobs added:
Devery Jacobs: To borrow a saying from the disabled community that they have coined, they say nothing about us without us. I think that’s so true for any marginalized community, including Indigenous folks. When it comes to telling our stories, making sure that there are as many storytellers from that community as possible is paramount. There’s been 100 years of lack of representation and misrepresentation and an intentional exclusion of Indigenous voices in Hollywood. To have us be a part of these conversations is integral to making sure that we’re able to accurately tell our stories.
10) Why ‘Echo’ Stands Apart in the MCU
Marvel executive producer Brad Winderbaum says that ‘Echo’ marks a new turning point for the way Marvel tells stories.
Brad Winderbaum: Marvel is such a big, vast universe. The comics have been called the greatest ongoing story that’s ever been written – certainly the longest. There are so many corners to the universe that are still unexplored, even today. Maya allowed us to see a corner of the MCU that hadn’t been seen before. To me, that is the future of Marvel. It is being able to tell stories that are unexpected, that operate on the fringe of what we’ve seen before, and are standalone, character-focused, and have a unique personality all their own. In a way, ‘Echo’ marks a new beginning for the studio. It’s a new tone for us. It is a truly grounded and emotional journey. Not just for the audience, but certainly, for all of us who are lucky to be behind the scenes. I have to say that, through Sydney’s leadership on the production, we had a real sense of community making this show. It was a nurturing, collaborative experience, and frankly, one of the best in my career.
What’s the story of ‘Echo’?
Following the events chronicled in 2021’s ‘Hawkeye’, ‘Echo’ catches up with Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) as she is pursued by Wilson Fisk’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) criminal empire. When the journey brings her home, she must confront her own family and legacy.
Who is in ‘Echo’?
The series also stars Chaske Spencer, Graham Greene, Tantoo Cardinal, Devery Jacobs, Zahn McClarnon and Cody Lightning.
Other Projects Similar to ‘Echo’:
- ‘Daredevil‘ (2003)
- ‘Elektra‘ (2005)
- ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home‘ (2021)
- ‘Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye‘ (2022)
- ‘Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law‘ (2022)
