Marvel and Hulu are bringing the heat with Echo, the newest series from Marvel Studios and the first under the Marvel Spotlight banner.

The R-rated series (also a first for the studio) brings Maya Lopez from the world of Hawkeye into her own story, as she reconnects with those from her past and faces her demons. Blavity’s Shadow and Act Managing Editor Trey Mangum spoke with the cast and crew about what fans can expect from the series starring the MCU‘s first deaf and Native American lead character.

Alaqua Cox, who played the titular character, described the series as “intense.”

“It’s so action-packed with a lot of Indigenous and deaf perspectives as well,” she said via a sign language interpreter. “…You know that there’s those moments where there’s no sound that happens and I like that we added that from the deaf perspective, of course because I’m a deaf character played by a deaf individual, so it’s nice to have the audience be able to experience those deaf things in our world that we experience.”

Executive producer Richie Palmer also gave more insight into what it means for Echo to be the first series under the Marvel Spotlight banner. He said that the banner will allow the studio to tell stories that might not immediately fall under the MCU brand.

“Maya Lopez is a relatively obscure character from the comics…when telling a story Maya Lopez origins on-screen, we wanted to honor all those things about her origins and her character in the comics, and in doing so, it doesn’t tonally [fit within the MCU],” he said. “…It doesn’t immediately have to be in the same world of Avengers and giant CG aliens flying around New York City, but this is a character that grew up in that world, so we just wanted to honor and say that this is a show that anyone can tune in and enjoy.”

Series director Sydney Freeland talked about how important representation was for this series, both in front of and behind the camera.

“Representation wasn’t a maybe for us, it was a must. Speaking for myself, I come from multiple marginalized communities. I don’t try for representation when I wake up in the morning; when I walk down the street, that’s just who I am,” she said. “What that meant is that we try to have deaf representation both in front of and behind the camera, Indigenous representation both in front of and behind the camera. Having the resources of something at the Marvel scale allowed us to lean into the authenticity of both of those aspects.”

Devery Jacobs plays Bonnie, who she described as being so close to Maya that they could be sisters. Jacobs said that the series is a benchmark for Native American storytelling in television.

“I think that having this show being about the Choctaw Nation and Indigenous community members and Maya Lopez being the first deaf and Native American anti-hero…is a marker for all of our communities,” they said. “There’s such a status when seeing Marvel films…I know I was so emotional watching Black Panther for the first time and I remember people asking the question, ‘Is this how it feels for white audiences every time they see a white superhero?’ I think that for us when there are so few projects that are reflective of our experiences, specifically for Native American and Indigenous folks, whenever we see one of us on screen, it feels like, Yeah, I’m a part of that. I think we’ve all been waiting for that opportunity to see Native American people in the MCU. The fact that we get to be a part of this project is special.”

Chaske Spencer, who plays Uncle Henry, the leader of the Oklahoma branch of Wilson Fisk’s (Vincent D’Onofrio) crime syndicate, said that the series is “a step in the right direction.”

“What I love about Echo is the themes of a great story,” he said. “Everybody can relate to family, everyone can relate to all these emotions and what’s going on with Maya and the community. I like that it’s relatable.”

All eight episodes of Echo are now streaming on Hulu.

Sydney Freeland

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