Echo Interview: Director Sydney Freeland On Maya"s Dysfunctional Relationship With Wilson Fisk

Summary

• Grounding Maya's background in the Choctaw Nation created a more intimate and authentic story, with the inclusion of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma providing expertise and feedback.
• The visual language and use of ASL in the show were intentional and stemmed from the representation of sign language. Close-ups and emphasis on facial expressions allow for better understanding and conveying of emotional intent.
• The series explores Maya's perception of family, challenging her preconceived notions and potentially reshaping her worldview. Her relationship with Wilson Fisk adds an unhealthy dynamic that adds depth and intrigue to the story.

Maya Lopez is on the run in Echo after shooting Wilson Fisk at the end of Hawkeye. In an attempt to stay off his organization's radar, Maya returns to her small hometown in Oklahoma. However, her return home spurs self-reflection as she reconnects with her roots and the family she left behind.
Echo stars Alaqua Cox, Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Devery Jacobs, Zahn McClarnon, Cody Lightning, and Graham Greene. Marion Dayre created the Disney+ series based on the Echo comics by David Mack and Joe Quesada. Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio return to reprise their roles as fan favorites Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, and Wilson Fisk, respectively, before the highly anticipated series Daredevil: Born Again.
Related Echo: Cast, Story Details, & Everything We Know Disney Plus has started development on Echo, an MCU spin-off of the Hawkeye series, featuring Native American martial artist Maya Lopez.
Screen Rant interviewed Echo executive producer and director Sydney Freeland. She explained how taking ASL lessons helped her better understand how to shoot scenes involving sign language and the importance of working with the Choctaw Nation. Freeland also teased Maya's journey, including her dysfunctional relationship with Wilson Fisk and a hugely important moment involving Daredevil.
Sydney Freeland Talks Echo Close Screen Rant: Sydney, I love Echo. How did grounding Maya's background in the Choctaw Nation provide the perfect foundation for the character?

Sydney Freeland: I think we always knew that we wanted to tell a story that was a little more intimate, a little more grounded, and a little more street-level. When Maya Lopez was created as Choctaw, then for myself the first logical step was to engage with Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Very early on we met with them, presented the project to them, and did two things. One was ask permission. Being indigenous, growing up my father would always instill and teach [me] and my sister that you always have to ask permission. And the other thing was to create a dialogue, and we wanted to basically present and say, "Listen, we're not here to tell you what we're going to do with the character. We're here to get your expertise; get your feedback." We were coming in, and we wanted to push the envelope, but let's define where the envelope is.

One thing I love about this show is the way that it's shot. I've noticed even on closeups, we can still see the signing. Can you talk about working with Doug Ridloff for the visual language and the ASL with the cast and production?

Sydney Freeland: I think that's a perfect example of how representation can have positive consequences. Very early on, my crew [and I] took sign language classes, and one of the things that I learned actually ended up dictating our entire visual style.
What you're describing is intentional, and one of the things that I learned early on is that when you and I are speaking, and the words are coming out of my mouth, that is the text of what I'm saying. But the subtext isn't how I deliver those words. You need both of those things to get the full emotional intent of what is being communicated.
In ASL, it's slightly different. When you sign, you sign typically here or here, and this is the text. But the face and how you emote, that's the subtext. You need both of those things to get the full emotional intent of what's being communicated, so what does that mean? That means in our show, this is a closeup. Because it's a closeup for Maya Lopez, everyone else gets that same closeup.

This is the first time the MCU has taken us to a small town, which makes it a lot more intimate. We're in Tamaha, Oklahoma, which feels like a character itself in Echo.

Sydney Freeland: I think [it's] this pursuit of authenticity and, more specifically, small-town Oklahoma. For myself, I grew up on a Reservation in New Mexico, and the town I grew up in is different than the town of Tamaha. Having grown up in and around, or having made multiple trips to, Oklahoma and being familiar with small-town America, that was something we always wanted to lean into. Once we brought the Choctaw Nation in there, we tried to merge those two things together.

Can you talk about Maya's perception of family? Because we see her go from selfish to almost selfless through the season.

Sydney Freeland: I think that's one of the most exciting things about the series, getting to explore [the] definition of family. When we come into this series, Maya has a very different definition of what family is. Over the course of it, we're going to challenge those preconceived notions of what she knows to be true and real to her experience and see if that worldview still holds by the end.

I love exploring Maya's relationship with Wilson Fisk. Can you talk about how their relationship is explored throughout the series?

Sydney Freeland: The dynamic between Wilson Fisk and Maya Lopez is that of a father and a daughter, or of an uncle and a niece. It's a very unhealthy relationship, but that's also where a lot of the fun lies.

In the first episode, right off the bat, we get an incredible fight scene with Daredevil and Maya. Can you talk about how the action with Daredevil sets itself apart from the Netflix series and She-Hulk, while still feeling true to the character?

Sydney Freeland: I think everything stems from the story and the script and the unique specific circumstances of our show. In reading that scene, the thing I loved about it was that before we even shot anything, on the page Maya Lopez enters that scene as a teenage girl and she leaves it as a cold-blooded killer.
I wanted the audience to be able to see that transformation happen in real-time and try to put them in her shoes and experience things, in some cases literally as she perceives them. I don't want to spoil it, but after you see the scene, you'll understand what I mean by that, and so that lent itself to us shooting it as it [was]. We knew it was ambitious going in, especially on a TV schedule, but we wanted to take that swing.

Alaqua is great as Echo Maya Lopez. What did she bring to the role that wasn't on the page?

Sydney Freeland: Oh, man. You talk about that as a factor, those intangibles, and Alaqua just has this natural blend of charisma and natural ability. She can be physical, she can be emotional, but to sort of have to learn to do that on the job is a tremendous responsibility, even for an experienced actor.
To be the lead of a Marvel series that shoots for over 90 days [with] essentially her sum total of film-going experience being a few days on Hawkeye prior to this? She came in and met every expectation, she exceeded every expectation, and she rose to every challenge. And in my opinion, she's the real deal.

About Echo The origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez, whose ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown. She must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots, and embrace the meaning of family and community if she ever hopes to move forward.
Check out our other Echo interviews here:

• Brad Winderbaum
• Vincent D’Onofrio
• Alaqua Cox
• Richie Palmer
• Chaske Spencer & Devery Jacobs

Echo debuts on Disney+ on January 9 at 6pm PT.
Source: Screen Rant Plus
Marvel's Echo CrimeSuperheroActionDrama Alaqua Cox returns as the anti-hero Maya Lopez in Marvel's Echo, one of the street-level MCU's Disney+ series that take place during the Multiverse Saga. After her confrontation with Clint Barton and Kate Bishop in Phase 4's Hawkeye, the titular Echo returns to her hometown and reconnects with her Native American heritage.
Release Date January 9, 2024 Cast Chaske Spencer , Zahn McClarnon , Graham Greene , Alaqua Cox , Cody Lightning , Charlie Cox , Tantoo Cardinal , Devery Jacobs , Vincent D'Onofrio Seasons 1 Writers Amy Rardin , Marion Dayre Streaming Service(s) Disney+ , Hulu Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Directors Sydney Freeland Expand


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