Echo interview: Alaqua Cox On Wilson Fisk & The Importance Of Representation In The MCU

Summary

• Echo, played by Alaqua Cox, is a Native American anti-hero who returns to her hometown and reconnects with her heritage.
• Representation and authenticity are important to the show, with partnerships with the Choctaw Nation to ensure accurate portrayal.
• Maya's relationship with Wilson Fisk, who taught her violence, is explored, showing her transition from selfishness to selflessness.

In Echo, Maya Lopez is on the run after shooting Wilson Fisk at the end of Hawkeye. She returns to her hometown in Oklahoma to stay off the radar of Fisk's organization. While there she will be forced to face her past, including her connection to Fisk, reconnect with her Native American roots and heritage, and embrace the community and family she left behind.
The series is based on the Echo comics by David Mack and Joe Quesada. Echo stars Alaqua Cox, Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Devery Jacobs, Zahn McClarnon, Cody Lightning, and Graham Greene. The series was created by Marion Dayre with Sydney Freeland serving as an executive producer and director. Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio will reprise their roles as Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, and Wilson Fisk, respectively.
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 star Alaqua Cox. She discussed the importance of representation and collaborating with the Choctaw Nation. Cox also explained Maya's relationship with Wilson Fisk and how her understanding evolves throughout the series from selfish to selfless.
Alaqua Cox Talks Echo Close Screen Rant: Alaqua, this show is phenomenal. It's obviously a grounded MCU show, and it reminds me of Sons of Anarchy or Ozark. You're the first Native American to be leading a Marvel series. How important do you feel representation within the MCU is, and what does it mean for you to personally be a part of this show?

Alaqua Cox: Man, it is so extremely important. I'm so grateful to be able to represent in this role because obviously authenticity is the key, and it's so important for Native American culture to be represented in the show as well. Also the deaf community as well, we cannot forget about them. So, I'm so happy to be able to represent both roles.

Speaking of authenticity, how did you work with the Choctaw Nation to bring that authenticity and to tell Maya's story respectfully?

Alaqua Cox: I remember we partnered with the Choctaw Nation to make sure that everything that we were representing was accurate to the nation because we have so many different tribes and different cultures, and they have their own traditions as well, and people think they're all similar, but they're actually not. Every tribe has their own traditions, and Marvel was able to connect us with somebody from the Choctaw Nation and show us their traditions and their culture as well.
The first day of filming, we had somebody on set. I remember our first day of filming, they brought the Choctaw Nation to honor our opening and have an opening ceremony. I can't remember what it was called, but we had a opening ceremony in honor of the show, and it was so beautiful to see that culture there and have them join us.

I want to talk about Maya's relationship with Wilson Fisk a little bit because she looks to him as a father figure, but it's definitely more of a manipulative father figure who's taught her violence and dastardly things. Can you talk about how their relationship is explored this season in Echo?

Alaqua Cox: Maya's father died, of course, and Fisk takes her in as his caregiver and cares for her. And then it's kind of crazy how Kingpin teaches her the violent lifestyle that she lives, and all these lies and betrayals happen, and all these bad things happen. I like how we show little Maya is able to beat up somebody because Kingpin was there, and he showed her the way. So, Maya became this rageful person, all learned from Kingpin. It's very interesting to see that dynamic in a relationship.

Maya is a badass fighter. She is absolutely incredible. Can you talk about working with Marc Scizak on the stunts for some of these fight scenes?

Alaqua Cox: Oh man, I loved working with Marc. It was fun to work with the stunt team, but they were always worried about me being injured, and I would always say, "Hey, give me more. I want to do this." They would say, "No, no, no, we don't want to hurt you. We're not going to go full force because we don't want to stop production and waste money and put everybody on a hold," and I totally understood that he didn't want me to get hurt, but it was so great working with them and learning the choreography. That was the biggest challenge, but it was fun.

Can you talk about Maya's perception of family and how that goes from selfish to selfless throughout the series?

Alaqua Cox: Oh yeah, that transition, of course. Maya has always been very tight-lipped around her uncle because he is the villain and he taught her, "Don't say anything to other people and don't trust anybody else." And so, she's always been so closeted to other people.
When she gets to Oklahoma, she tries to reconnect with her blood-related family, and she does try to open up a little bit more, but it is of course very hard for her because she's just so used to the lifestyle her uncle taught her to live, and she was taught to live this way. She's finding it difficult to open up and come a little bit on the better side, but she's still a complicated person. So, it's an interesting dynamic to see her change from that to this.

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
• Richie Palmer
• Sydney Freeland
• 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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