No matter whether you loved or loathed Echo, it probably didn't take you long to notice that the series was put through the wringer during post-production.
From a shoehorned-in recap of Maya Lopez's backstory to those oddly situated flashbacks featuring her ancestors, rumours of Marvel Studios cutting an entire episode now make sense (when Maya reunites with her cousin and grandfather, for example, it's clear that isn't the first time she shared the screen with them).
We don't know whether Echo required extensive reshoots, but the second episode, for example, has seven credited writers. We'd bet on there being a lot of scenes which didn't survive the editing room and can only hope that Daredevil: Born Again - which is being completely overhauled despite several episodes having been shot - now fares a little better.
Scooper @CanWeGetToast recently shared a screenshot from one of Echo's trailers, offering some insights into a major sequence which was deleted.
"A scene where Uncle Henry was (safely) shot by Maya using Tuklo’s powers was actually filmed for ‘ECHO’ and was cut from the series," they explain. "Maya would’ve shot Henry to convince Kingpin that she was on his side, but Henry would’ve survived with the help of his mortician friend."
Not only does this mean that Echo was once planning to pretend she was on The Kingpin's side, but her powers were going to emerge much sooner. That suggests the entire finale was reworked...unless the idea was for Maya to return to New York with Fisk after their clash, taking his operation down from the inside. We'll likely never know...
We awarded Echo 3.5* in our review and concluded by saying, "Alaqua Cox is a triumph in Echo, a series which may have taken a beating in the editing room, but still manages to deliver a ferocious, culturally significant story which puts Maya Lopez on the map and ushers in a new era of MCU storytelling on TV."
The five-episode streaming event spotlights 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.
Echo also stars Chaske Spencer (Wild Indian, The English), Graham Greene (1883, Goliath), Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon, Stumptown), Devery Jacobs (FX's Reservation Dogs, American Gods), Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds, FX's Reservation Dogs), Cody Lightning (Hey, Viktor!, Four Sheets to the Wind) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Hawkeye, Godfather of Harlem).
The series is directed by Sydney Freeland (Navajo) and Catriona McKenzie (Gunaikurnai).
All five episodes of Echo are now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.