Echo director explains why Daredevil return was essential

The MCU icon made a return in episode 1 of the new show for a brutal battle with Alaqua Cox's Maya Lopez– and it seems the pair are pretty evenly matched.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com about why it was important to bring back MCU legends like Daredevil, director Sydney Freeland explained that it's all about cementing Maya's place in the franchise.

She said: "I think one of the great things about being in the MCU is that you're in the MCU. One of the things that we really wanted to explore, we always knew that we were gonna explore a different corner or a different side than we've seen previously in other series or even in other films, but it was also important for us to firmly plant Maya Lopez in the MCU and say, 'Listen, this is a character that exists in this universe and she holds her own, she's a badass.'

"Then we were able to deviate and go to Oklahoma from there and really get to explore a different side and a different corner of the MCU than we have previously seen."

We first met Cox's Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the Netflix series, which was cancelled after three seasons. Fans were thrilled to see Daredevil back in action with a surprise appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – and now facing up to Maya in Echo.

It comes ahead of Daredevil: Born Again, which will revisit Cox's iteration of Murdock. Previously chatting to RadioTimes.com, he said: "On the one hand, we have the show that we made on Netflix for three seasons that was very well received and is loved and has a really substantial fan following.

"And we want the show, in many ways, to be an homage to that, of course, but there's no point in remaking that show. We've done that. So it has to be different as well."

Echo is streaming now on Disney Plus. Check out the rest of our Sci-Fi and Fantasy coverage, or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.

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