FIVE BY FIVE And ECHO 8: BEYOND Debut New Official Posters For The Back-To-Back ‘Echo 8’ Sequels
Film duo Maria Tran and Takashi Hara, and screenwriter Elizabeth H. Vu are setting the stage for a pair of premieres with Five By Five and Echo 8: Beyond, the back-to-back sequels to 2023 assassin thriller, Echo 8. Kicking off the latest phase of PR are two new official posters now circulating online for both films ahead of an exclusive trailer event to be held at a film industry event in Las Vegas on September 3.
“Seeing these posters finally out in the world feels like another huge milestone,” said Tran. “We started with almost nothing except an idea, a small team and people willing to believe in what we were doing. Now we have three feature films and a community that has grown alongside them.”
Penned by Vu, Tran and Hara directed and starred in the original Echo 8 which sees an assassin (Tran) fending off her own secret organization to protect her mother. Five By Five continues the saga in prequel fashion, exploring the origins of the first film’s villain, Agent 5 (Hara), chronicling his grief-stricken existence and gradual spiral into chaos while climbing the organization’s hierarchy. The film also stars Ross Page, Anne Dao, Xiang Ma, and Wilson Zou.
Tran returns for the subsequent threequel in Echo 8: Beyond, as our titular heroine continues her quest in a larger, more dangerous world. Just as featured in the new key art, she is joined on screen by actors George Basha, Damien Sato, Ashley Avci, and Kimberley Vo.
“After spending so long looking at these characters through the edit, it feels surreal to finally put them front and centre,” said Tran. “There are so many people who have given a part of themselves to these films, and the posters are really about introducing those faces to audiences.”
Following a community-powered model for Tran and her team at Phoenix Eye Films, the Echo 8 trilogy began as a grassroots journey for Tran and her team at Phoenix Eye films. Releasing in 2023, the film launched across more than twenty platforms with over a million streams and earned back its investment, demonstrating what can be achieved outside the traditional studio system.
“Our hope now is to build enough momentum for these films to keep travelling,” Tran said. “We want to take them to different cities and communities and create opportunities for people to experience them together on the big screen. As independent filmmakers, we don’t have a huge machine determining where these films go next. A lot of that momentum comes directly from audiences.”
Tran adds: “Every screening we can build from here is another opportunity to bring the films directly to the people who supported them. If there’s enough interest somewhere, we want to know about it.”
Five By Five and Echo 8: Beyond will have their kickoff premiere at the Urban Action Showcase International Film Festival in November, marking the first festival stop for both films going into 2027.
Check out the official posters for Five By Five and Echo 8: Beyond below:
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