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Marvel is about to drop Sydney Freeland-directed and Alaqua Cox-starring television miniseriesEchoon 08 July 2025. Previously, the director disclosed her initiative to change the MCU from a once-dominant superhero franchise to a more street-level action-packed franchise, by introducing a cutthroat villain as the protagonist of her show.
Standing by her decision, Sydney Freeland once again assured fans that the protagonist Maya Lopez aka Echo (Alaqua Cox) is still a villain and that the show will “lean in” to that. Unwilling to turn the main character into a stereotypical superhero like Captain America, Freeland refrained from “boring” stuff.
Also read:“She’s a criminal and she’s a villain”: Echo Director Has No Plans of Redeeming Alaqua Cox in Upcoming Series in Surprise Change of Tone for MCU
Sydney Freeland CalledEchoa Violent Superhero Series
Speaking withEWin December 2023, about her upcoming Marvel showEcho,executive producer and director Sydney Freeland noted how she’s willing to do things differently. Stating how the MCU has been struggling as a superhero franchise, Freeland assured that her upcoming show will change the landscape for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Claiming thatEcho,featuring Alaqua Cox as the protagonist Maya Lopez, won’t be a simple story about happy reunions, Sydney Freeland stated that it will be more street-level and gritty.
“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.’”
Also read:Echo Trailer Convinces Fans it’s as Good as Daredevil
Discussing how Marvel Studios agreed with her idea to turn the protagonist of the show into a cutthroat villain, Sydney Freeland calledAlaqua Cox‘s Maya Lopez aka Echo “a criminal and she’s a villain, she’s killing people”. But since it’s the first time that the MCU will base an entire show on a character that’s criminal-like, fans are excited and curious to know more.
Alaqua Cox’s Echo Won’t Be Like Marvel’s Captain America
With Alaqua Cox’sEchoapproaching its release date on 23 July 2025, fans are getting curious to learn if Marvel is still planning to stick with the same villainous storyline, or if they toned it down. Thus, addressing fans’ concerns, Sydney Freeland assured that Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez still remains a villain.
Also read:“People on our show – They bleed. They die”: One Upcoming Marvel Show Aims To Do What Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight Couldn’t
Speaking exclusively withRadioTimes,the executive producer and director ofEcho, Sydney Freeland noted that the show will “lean in” to the villain-like storyline. “This will be Marvel’s first TV-MA series… We always knew that we wanted to tell a story that was a little more grounded, it was a little more street level, it was a little grittier.” Freeland shared.
“In conversations with Marvel, as we were talking about the character, the response was, like, ‘Let’s lean into that, let’s see how far we can go down that rabbit hole.Really, as we come into the series, Maya Lopez is a villain. But the goal is not to turn her into Captain America. No, no, no. That, to me, is actually kind of boring.”
Stating that Maya Lopez still remains a villain,Sydney Freelanddiscussed that she won’t turn the protagonist into an archetypal Marvel hero like Captain America. Willing to explore the “nuances and those dynamics” of Maya, and find out how a deaf indigenous girl becomes a top lieutenant in Kingpin’s army, Freeland disclosed that the show won’t feature clean-cut dichotomies of good versus evil like that of Captain America.
Rather than narrating a story of good work and heroic deeds as shown in Captain America,Echowill challenge the conventional superhero narrative and embrace a darker, more grittier tone. In simple terms, it won’t be a stereotypical superhero series.
Krittika Mukherjee
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3219
Krittika Mukherjee is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on films, TV shows, and celebrity news with over 3,000 articles published. With an educational background in Journalism, and a keen interest in filmmaking, Krittika blends factual precision with creative flair, when crafting her editorials, or dissecting fan theories.Her coverage often includes news and analyses of critically acclaimed films, celebrity news, and franchises like the Wizarding World, LOTR, DC, and MCU—particularly Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, Superheroes, and fan theories. As a Wizarding World aficionado, Krittika has spent countless hours exploring hidden backstories, unadapted book moments, spells, and trivias surrounding J.K. Rowling’s lore.An imaginative writer with a way with words, Krittika has worked as an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a web content writer for a year. She brought her experience and expertise to FandomWire to pursue her desire for sipping coffee while dissecting films and tracking celebrity drama.
