Maya Lopez has some new superhuman abilities in Marvel's upcoming Echo series – and director Sydney Freeland says they directly tie into Maya's Choctaw heritage.
"I will say that Maya's culture plays a huge crucial role in our show and it's going to inform who she is and who she'll become, and I think one of the things we always wanted to do is explore the ancestral side of where Maya comes from," Freeland tells GamesRadar+.
Maya Lopez aka Echo first appeared in Daredevil #9 back in 1999. Much like her MCU iteration, Maya is deaf and Native American (of the Cheyenne nation), and is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Her comic book powers also include photographic reflexes, meaning she is able to copy anything and everything – such as a specific movement mid-fight. Later on in the comics, Maya not only joins the Avengers but becomes the host of the cosmic Phoenix Force (having won the Phoenix's favor in the tournament shown in the story Avengers: Enter the Phoenix and develops powers that are similar to that of Jean Grey.
However, things are a bit different in the live-action series. In the Disney Plus show, Maya's family is of the Choctaw nation. She also doesn't have those photographic reflexes, as confirmed by Freeland in a press event in 2023. Maya's superhuman powers in the series remain to be seen, but Freeland says they will coincide with Maya's Choctaw heritage.
"And that meant we were going to explore different timelines in Maya Lopez's matrilineal bloodline, and we were going backward in time in various different places and meeting Maya's ancestors," Freeland continues. "One thing I can say is that there's a reason we're going back in time, and there’s a reason we're visiting these ancestors. But to see how those two things are gonna come together, you'll have to watch the series."
The limited series picks up directly after the events of Hawkeye, and sees Maya (Alaqua Cox) return to her hometown in Oklahoma where she must reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community in order to heal and move forward. The cast includes Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Graham Greene, Cody Lightning, Devery Jacobs, Zahn McClarnon, with Vincent D'Onofrio and Charlie Cox reprising their roles and Kingpin and Daredevil respectively.
Echo hits Disney Plus and Hulu on January 9 (in the UK it will be January 10). Make sure you have your Disney Plus settings set to TV-MA. For more, check out our list of all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows that you need to know about.
