Echo Series Will Lean Into Mature Violence

Echo is going to be bringing that "mature" violence to the Disney+ series. Director Sydney Freeland spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the upcoming Marvel Studios show. She says that Echo is going to "lean into the TV-MA aspect" of the character. The helmer explained how the fact that Alaqua Cox's vigilante is a bad guy spoke to her when she was assembling the series. Villains aren't bound by the same rules as some of our favorite Avengers are. That means, the fists can fly and blood can be spilled during Echo's solo show. In fact, from the small teasers that are out in the world already, it feels like the MCU show, and 2024 in totality honestly, are ready to really toss things into a more violent direction.

"Because we're dealing with a story that is more street-level, it is a little more grounded and a little more visceral. We're leaning into the TV-MA aspect of it," Freeland told the outlet. "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.'"

"As we progressed through the production, I had the chance to say, 'Okay so what if this guy gets his head smashed onto the table, and actually loses a couple of teeth?,'" Freeland would add. "That's the character and that's the world: She's a criminal and she's a villain, she's killing people. And the response was, 'Yeah, let's try it!'" 

Marvel Takes A Step Into Mature Ratings With Echo

In other interviews, Sydney Freeland talked about Marvel Studios' willingness to go into more mature territory with Echo. During a press event for the new MCU series, executive producer Brad Winderbaum talked about stepping into slightly more adult waters for this show. They feel confident that the Daredevil fans will be pleased with what the studio has put together here.

 "It's our first TV-MA show, so it's a little on the grittier side for Marvel," Winderbaum explained when asked about the tone. "And I think again, shows kind of the breadth of what Marvel's capable of. And certainly something, again, if you know the comics and know the history, it feels very in line, but is kind of a new direction for the brand, especially on Disney+. And to that end, it's going to be, for many reasons, going to be simultaneously released on Disney+ and Hulu."  

"We wanted very adamantly to show that these are people in our show," Freeland added. "They bleed, they die, they get killed, and there are real-world consequences. And again, talking, it's not the fate of the universe at stake because I think once you go that broad, you can sort of lose sight a little bit. And so that kind of dictated the tone a little bit."

What's Coming Before Echo?

Before Echo comes to deal out revenge, Marvel Studios is sliding into the holidays with What If…? beginning on Friday. Here's what they have to say about the animated anthology series' return: "With a new episode debuting nightly beginning Dec. 22, season two of "What If…?" continues the journey as The Watcher guides viewers through the vast multiverse, introducing brand new and familiar faces throughout the MCU. The series questions, revisits and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments with an incredible voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their iconic roles." 

"Featuring fan-favorite characters this season like Nebula, Hela and Happy Hogan, episodes are directed by Bryan Andrews (eps 2-9) and Stephan Franck (ep 1) and written by AC Bradley (eps 3, 4, 5, 8), Matthew Chauncey (eps 1-3, 7, 9) and Ryan Little (eps 6, 8). The animated series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Bryan Andrews and AC Bradley."

Echo is now set to hit Disney+ and Hulu on January 10.

Are you liking the mature tone from Echo as we near the release date? Let us know down in the comments!