Location manager Ryan Schaetzle said the story would focus on a small town. Supervising producer Eleena Khamedoost said setting Echo in Tamaha, Oklahoma was "attractive" as it allowed the writers to make it a character in the series, and "showcase a world we have never seen in the MCU".
Although "Echo," like most Marvel projects, was filmed primarily in Georgia, much of the action is set in Maya's rural Oklahoma community of Tamaha, which is based on a real eastern Oklahoma town formerly in the Choctaw Nation.
Teresa's work with Marvel Studios' translators allowed the show to be subtitled in Choctaw, a first for our tribe. Not only can tribal members see the language of their ancestors on a major television series, but it will help them realize how important it is to learn their language and use it in their everyday lives.
On the one hand, “Echo” is a relatively simple story. It follows Maya Lopez, a closely held associate of a New York-based criminal magnate, as she returns to her Oklahoma hometown after a violent falling out with her boss.
While pretty much a flop, Echo did have a few positive notes worth mentioning. First, show producers did strive to depict the Choctaw Nation accurately. They paid close attention to cultural details in this area. This made it more reassuring that things like the powwow at the end were a realistic setup.
Marvel Studios' Echo | This Is Choctaw | Disney+ & Hulu
Are the Choctaw stories in Echo true?
The opening moments of Echo episode 1, "Chafa," explored the Choctaw Nation's creation myth and stayed true to real-world mythology while adding some of the MCU's typical supernatural elements.
Pushmataha ( c. 1764 – December 24, 1824; also spelled Pooshawattaha, Pooshamallaha, or Poosha Matthaw) was one of the three regional chiefs of the major divisions of the Choctaw in the 19th century. Many historians considered him the "greatest of all Choctaw chiefs".
The central character in Echo is Maya Lopez, played by Alaqua Cox, who was born deaf and is an amputee. In Echo, Maya flees home to Oklahoma's Choctaw Nation, pursued by supervillain Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio), the head of a criminal empire she once worked for.
The series was formally announced in November 2021, when Dayre was revealed to be serving as head writer, with Freeland set to direct by March 2022. Filming took place from late April to late August 2022, in the Atlanta metropolitan area including Atlanta, Peachtree City, Social Circle, and Grantville, Georgia.
Where is Marvel's 'Echo' series set? Much of the action is set in the main character Maya Lopez's rural Oklahoma community of Tamaha, which is based on a real eastern Oklahoma town formerly in the Choctaw Nation.
Studies show some members of the Choctaw Tribe in Oklahoma have blood characteristics not found in any other part of the world. This discovery was made in 1997 at Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI). The “type” or minor blood group is known scientifically as ENAV(MNS42).
In order to be more authentic to the story and the character of Lopez, we leaned into the specificity of her being from one tribe only. To give her a fresh start, and given we had Choctaw writers in the writers room, that meant she became Choctaw instead of Blackfeet or Cheyenne."
Alaqua Cox (born February 13, 1997) is a Native American (Menominee) actress. She landed her breakthrough role – her first ever acting experience – as Maya Lopez / Echo within the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021), continuing as the protagonist in the spin-off series Echo (2024).
Maya Lopez has been described as Marvel's first deaf and indigenous superhero. She is the first deaf, indigenous, and amputee character portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Her own miniseries Echo became the first Marvel television show centered on a deaf Native American superhero.
Echo was first announced in November 2021, right after Cox showed up as Echo in Hawkeye. With the show only getting released some two years later, the earliest we're likely to see Echo season 2 would be 2026.
Echo incorporates authentic Choctaw mythology, honoring the heritage of the Choctaw people in Oklahoma. Maya Lopez's powers are connected to her Choctaw heritage, allowing her to "echo" the abilities of her ancestors and confront her enemies.
The deaf Cheyenne-Latin American warrior known as Echo uses her photographic reflexes abilities at first for vengeance in Hell's Kitchen and then as a New Avenger.
The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest Indian nation in the United States, with over 225,000 tribal members and 12,000-plus associates. The first tribe over the Trail of Tears, historic boundaries are in the southeast corner of Oklahoma.
