Sydney Freeland is an impressive director with an eye for detail. Not only did she direct an episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, but she also lent her talents to Marvel's Echo, helming four of the series' five episodes along with executive producing it.

The series helped introduce viewers to the world of Maya Lopez, played by Alaqua Cox, who made her first on-screen appearance in Hawkeye. Echo broke barriers when it was released by featuring Marvel's first deaf and Indigenous character. Unlike the usual Marvel fare, the series was grittier and had a TV-MA rating. (And ahem, an appearance by little-known Marvel character Daredevil, too.) The show pretty much immediately shot to the top of the Disney+ charts and is a massive success for the streamer.

Several weeks ago, we had the chance to sit down with Freeland over Zoom and discuss everything Maya Lopez and more. The director shared that it was the hardest and most rewarding thing she's ever done. Freeland discussed the vision for the project, including how the heart of the series was the relationship between Maya and Kingpin, along with bringing the character home to Oklahoma. She talked about how she got on board with Echo, and it started with an e-mail from fellow directors Bert and Bertie. Read ahead for the full interview. But if you haven't seen Echo yet, beware, there are some spoilers ahead. (And what are you waiting for, anyway?)

Host: Ayla Ruby

Theme: "Coffee and You" via Pixabay.

Find the companion article to this podcast on thecosmiccircus.com