Reservation Dogs director Sydney Freeland is rumored to be directing one or more episodes of Disney+’s Echo. The planned Hawkeye spinoff is entering production soon, and Freeland’s involvement is not yet guaranteed, but the first of what is likely to be many, many theories to come out of the Marvel fandom, if previous MCU shows are anything to go by. The series was reportedly hurried into development after studio executives fell in love with star Alaqua Cox, who is expected to debut the character on next week’s episode of Hawkeye. Her involvement is also notable because of all the Daredevil and Kingpin theories currently running around in the Marvel space: originally introduced during a run on Daredevil, Echo has strong ties to both Matt Murdoch and the Kingpin.
And…that’s about all we know about the Echo series just yet. Better Call Saul‘s Marion Dayre will run the writers room, which includes both deaf and Native American talent (the character of Echo is both). Other writers on staff for the series include Rebecca Roanhorse, Bobby Wilson, Shoshannah Stern, and Josh Feldman.
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The tie to Freeland is pretty circumstantial, but she seems like a strong enough candidate that it’s worth pointing out all the “imaginary dots” that Murphy’s Multiverse has collected up and connected. It isn’t just that she and numerous members of the Echo writers room are mutually following one another’s social media accounts, but also that she has worked with Marvel standout Taika Waititi on Reservation Dogs, and with Zahn McClarnon, who acted in that series before being cast as Echo’s dad in Hawkeye.
In terms of maintaining cultural accuracy, Freeland is also has Navajo and Scotch roots, according to the report. The filmmaker has previously directed episodes of big-hit series like The Walking Dead and Grey’s Anatomy.
“It’s crazy how much my life has already changed because I was a college dropout. I worked at a factory. I’m so excited to show people who I am and what I can do, what anybody can do,” Cox told People Magazine ahead of Hawkeye‘s premiere. “[My friends] saw the casting call looking for a Native American actress and female deaf actress,” she added. “It just matched so perfectly, so I decided to go for it. I had never seen anybody on the screen that maybe looked like me … deaf, an amputee.”
New episodes of Hawkeye drop on Wednesdays on Disney+. Keep an eye on ComicBook for more on Echo as it develops.
