As Mayans M.C. takes over the TV world, co-creators Elgin James and Kurt Sutter have discussed the decision to remove a key character during re-shoots.
Mayans M.C. has been in the works practically since Sons of Anarchy came to a close, in one way or another.
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In a recent interview with Gamespot, James talked about the process of building on Sons of Anarchy without relying too heavily on nostalgia and formulaic stories. He revealed that the Reyes family originally had a matriarchal figure not unlike Gemma Teller Morrow from the original series, but after a while, they decided to remove her.
“By removing that, we created this huge vacuum in a beautiful way,” he said. “We have these three men just clumsily trying to communicate with each other.”
While Sons of Anarchy was anchored on Gemma, played by Katey Sagal, James and Sutter decided to leave the Reyes boys — and thereby the whole Mayans club — without a de facto mother-figure to rely on. Instead, the series now centers around Eziekel “EZ” Reyes (J.D. Pardo), his brother Angel Reyes (Clayton Cardenas) and their father, Felipe Reyes (Edward James Olmos.)
The three men are all mourning the loss of Marisol Reyes in their own unique ways. James and Sutter decided to change to story so that Marisol was deceased, fundamentally changing the dynamic of the family and the entire gang in the process. In addition, this opened up a whole new realm of storytelling opportunities that were not present in Sons of Anarchy, further differentiating the two shows.
Before that decision was made, Marisol Reyes had been cast and announced. According to report at the time by Deadline, she was to be played by Jacqueline Obradors, known for her role as Detective Rita Ortiz on NYPD Blue. Presumably, Obradors even filmed some scenes as Marisol before James and Sutter made their decision, as he told Gamespot that there were re-shoots to reflect the new Reyes family line-up.
Hopefully, some of that Marisol footage will be salvaged for flashbacks or other purposes, but there is no word on that yet. Obradors is not listed on the Mayans M.C. IMDb page, nor is Marisol Reyes. The show focuses mainly on EZ being pulled in two directions. After being released from jail, his brother offers him a new life in the Mayans club, while his father urges him to keep his nose clean. James explained how fundamental this dichotomy is to the series.
“It’s about being stuck between two worlds,” James said. “That’s something we really wanted to do. Like EZ doesn’t belong there, but he’s from there. You know? We’re actually on the border stuck between two worlds. He’s not a club member, but he is.”
Mayans M.C. premieres Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 10 p.m. ET on FX. The first episode is available now to subscribers of the FX Now streaming service.
