Marvel Studios recently announced that all five episodes of Echo will now stream on Disney+ and Hulu a day earlier than originally advertised on January 09, and released a new "viewer discretion advised" trailer featuring quite a bit of bloody action.
Now, executive producer/director Sydney Freeland has explained Marvel's decision to make the Hawkeye spin-off the very first TV-MA rated MCU series, noting that the show's street-level violence will set it apart from its fellow big and small screen projects.
“Because we're dealing with a story that is more street-level, it is a little more grounded and a little more visceral," she tells EW. "We’re leaning into the TV-MA aspect of it. One of the big things when I first came on was talking to Marvel and saying, ‘Well, she's a villain in Hawkeye, and to me that's the most interesting thing about her.’ And their response was, ‘Let's lean into that, let's explore that.’”
Freeland continues, “As we progressed through the production, I had the chance to say, ‘Okay so what if this guy gets his head smashed onto the table, and actually loses a couple of teeth?’ That’s the character and that's the world: She's a criminal and she's a villain, she's killing people. And the response was, ‘Yeah, let's try it!’”
You can check out some new promo stills at the link below.
Echo will also be the first project under a new banner known as Marvel Spotlight, which takes its name from an anthology comic book series that debuted back in 1971 and was the origin of beloved Marvel characters like Ghost Rider and Spider-Woman.
“Marvel Spotlight gives us a platform to bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity," said Head of Streaming Brad Winderbaum. "Just like comics fans didn’t need to read Avengers or Fantastic Four to enjoy a Ghost Rider Spotlight comic, our audience doesn’t need to have seen other Marvel series to understand what’s happening in Maya’s story.”
"Marvel Studios presents Echo in which Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) struggles to reconnect with her Native American roots while balancing aspirations tied to a life of crime as successor to the brutal legacy of Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) aka Kingpin," reads the most recent synopsis. "In the first episode, we are introduced to Maya Lopez and her struggles."
In addition to Cox, D'Onofrio and Cox (Charlie), the show will also star Chaske Spencer as Henry, Tantoo Cardinal as Chula, Graham Greene as Skully, Cody Lightning as Cousin Biscuits, Devery Jacobs as Bonnie, and Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez.
The origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez (Cox), whose ruthless behaviour 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.