Echo, the director of the Marvel series, explains how being transsexual and Navajo helped her

There director Of EchoSydney Freeland, explained how being transsexual and Navajo helped her connect with Maya Lopez, the protagonist of the Marvel TV series on Disney Plus.

“I think that, coming from diverse marginalized communities, I'm used to being misrepresented and portrayed poorly in the media,” says Freeland. “So when I saw that it was a deaf, indigenous character, it was incredibly exciting to me, because things that might be foreign or different to the folks, they're incredibly normal to me. This is the space I love to be in. It's the space I love to operate in.”

“That said, my personal experience helped shape my approach to this project,” Freeland continues. “And because I'm not deafallowed me to open up to people who have lived that experience and who have the skills necessary to come into the project and help us shape the narrative.”

Each episode of Echo begins with a colorful vignette explaining the history of the Choctaw people. Freeland says she and her team went to Oklahoma and met with the Choctaw Nation before filming to ask permission and open a dialogue. This was crucial for Freeland.

“Growing up, it was always exciting whenever you saw a Native American character on screen, whether it was Dances with Wolves or Smoke Signals. Whenever there was a Native American character, I just threw myself into it and fully experienced it,” says Freeland . “So having an entire Marvel series led by an Indigenous character, a deaf character, is incredibly exciting. It's incredibly rewarding. I can't wait for people to meet Maya Lopez.”

Marvel's Echo, what is it about?

The series, consisting of five episodes, picks up from the events of Hawkeye Season 1 and sees Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) return to her hometown in Oklahoma, where she must reconnect with her Native American roots and rediscover the meaning of family and community to heal and move forward with her life.

Maya is there first deaf, indigenous and amputee superhero to be portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She and Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, briefly bond over her deafness in one of the hero's ears. Barton uses sign language to tell her the devastating news that sets off the events of the Echo TV series.