Exclusive: Echo director Sydney Freeland opens up on liberating her show from MCU diktats

Sydney Freeland directs Echo, the first show under Marvel Spotlight, a section of more intimate stories which don't necessarily fit into the MCU.

Who else is reeling under superhero fatigue? Ever since Marvel spread out into long-format stories like WandaVision, Loki, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel, it's been getting increasingly difficult to keep track of every little shift in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For those who wished Marvel went back to crafting a show independent of the MCU, their prayers have been answered.

Echo stars Alaqua Cox as the titular character

Echo to the rescue

As 2024 kicks off, Marvel Studios is releasing a new series, titled Echo, under a new section, Marvel Spotlight. The stories under the new segment will be more intimate than the usual Marvel fare and they will operate outside of the MCU timelines. In an exclusive interview, Echo director Sydney Freeland opens up on the liberation that comes with the non-MCU alignment.

“It's interesting because we always knew we were going to tell a more grounded, street-level intimate tale. It's more at a human scale, it's not the fate of the universe that's at stake.

Our consequences aren't cosmic in scale. It's more human, it's more intimate. Because the stakes are human, it allows us to make it more accessible.

"Our character is involved in the New York underworld. So that means people die, people bleed, they get killed, bones break in our show," Syndey said.

MCU breadcrumbs

The very nature of Marvel Spotlight may not allow MCU buffs to spot Easter eggs in Echo – because they don't exist. But Sydney insists that there would be links to past Marvel shows since the character of Echo was itself introduced in the MCU show Hawkeye. And a new promo from the show pits the titular character against Daredevil (Charlie Cox).

“That's what's so great about the series. Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can tune into Echo and find characters who are familiar from other films and series. But at the same time, we're trying to tell a story that doesn't require you to do that homework coming into it. So hopefully, it's the best of both worlds. If you're deep into the MCU, it'll be fun to watch. But if you're not, we invite you to come in as well too," said Sydney.

Enhanced diversity

Disassociating with the MCU also gives more room for diversity. For instance, Echo stars Alaqua Cox as Marvel's first deaf indigenous female superhero. The intersectionality is unparalleled, and so is the determination to get it right. Sydney, a Navajo filmmaker, was brought in to helm the show and make it more true to her tribe.

Interestingly, Marvel's Echo comes only a few months after Martin Scorsese's period epic Killers of the Flower Moon, which put the spotlight on the Osage tribe. It starred an indigenous actor, Lily Gladstone, as the lead actor opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. Echo is yet another baby step towards representation of Native Americans in projects greenlit by top studios.

“For myself, these aspects are incredibly familiar. I'm not deaf, but the familiarity with her Native American background allows us to tell a deeply human story. Usually, how Native Americans are portrayed in old Hollywood is that they're othered, they're different, they're exotic. In actuality, what the show will explore is her humanity because that's really accessible to people from all walks of life.”

All five episodes of Echo will release in India on January 10 on Disney+ Hotstar.

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