The Marvel Cinematic Universe is renowned for its spectacular storylines and outstanding character depictions. And with every new series, the franchise is shifting more toward the mature themes territory. The same goes with the upcoming, super hyped-up series, Echo, which will be the studio’s first to get the TV-MA rating.
Not only is it reported to have maturer themes like Netflix’s Daredevil series, but it is also said to aim at doing what Oscar Isaac’s superhit series Moon Knight failed to do: be incredibly gritty, gory, and violent to the core.
Marvel’s Echo To Have More Violent Themes Than Before
Ever since Daredevil ended on Netflix back in 2019, fans have been yearning to see something similar: with equal or more gritty sequences. And now, Marvel has provided them with just the chance with the upcoming Echo.
Something of a successor to Charlie Cox‘s series since Cox’s Daredevil will appear in the series as well, the show’s recent trailer said it all with the violence and gory themes it depicted. Fans will see Alaqua Cox reprising her role of Maya Lopez aka Echo in the much-awaited series: the adoptive daughter of supervillain Kingpin and supporting character of Daredevil.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter recently following the release of the first official trailer, the Studio’s streaming, television, and animation head Brad Winderbaum shared the true depiction of the series.
“It’s a little on the grittier side for Marvel, and shows the breadth of what Marvel is capable of,” said Brad Winderbaum. “It is sort of a new direction for the brand, especially for Disney+.”
Director Sydney Freeland followed with his reasoning behind how the different theme and tone of the show evolved from the fact that ‘it follows a villain’.
“People on our show — they bleed. They die. They get killed and there are real-world consequences,” said Freeland.
From what has been presented until now about Echo, the series seems to be much different than the usual Marvel content, aiming to do what Oscar Isaac‘s Moon Knight couldn’t do: openly bring in all the darker themes that could possibly surround a villain.
Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight Couldn’t Bring About The True Grit And Gore
Since Moon Knight is famous for being one of the more mature heroes in Marvel, fans were expecting a lot darker theme in Oscar Isaac’s superhit series than what it actually ended up giving. Not only was it expected to openly depict brutal violence, but fans were also hoping to see the true gritty self of Moon Knight in the Disney+ series.
However, the series’ writers had to tone down the content, because of Disney’s habit of holding back on violence and adult themes. Furthermore, they also ignored the darker push to the character since they wanted to make the series appropriate for fans of all ages, especially for the large chunk of young audience in the MCU fanbase.
Thus, even the ‘heaviest PG-13 violence’ expected by MCU fans worldwide for the hit series Moon Knight wasn’t there in the show, nor was the brutal violent action and dark tone required for the character.
Although Moon Knight could have been a lot grittier had the creators not neutered the show with surface-level attention to violence, Echo has once again ignited hope in fans for a maturer and darker-themed series that will actually land down to the full potential of the character.
All five episodes of Echo are set to release on the 10th of January, 2024 on Disney+.
