Maya Three

[Nayra Waddles]

Setin a world based on late pre-colonial Mesoamerica, Maya, a warrior princess, is celebrating her fifteenth birthday, but when the underworld gods appear and announce she must pay for her family's misdeeds, everything changes.[citation needed] If she refuses to go along, the world itself will be ravaged by the gods, so she embarks on a quest to fulfill a prophecy that says that three warriors will appear who will help her defeat these gods and save humanity itself from destruction.[1]

In November 2018, it was reported that Netflix is developing an animated television miniseries about a Mesoamerican warrior.[8][9] The series has Jorge Gutirrez as the director, creator and executive producer, while Tim Yoon is a producer, Silvia Olivas and Jeff Ranjo are co-executive producers.[10] Gutirrez, Olivas, Doug Langdale and Candie Kelty Langdale are writers, and Ranjo is the head of story for the series. The series was described by Gutirrez, in October 2018, as equivalent to a Mexican version of The Lord of the Rings, "but hilarious."[11][12]

On September 15, 2021, Gutirrez described an exclusive clip from the series, saying the scene was inspired by Street Fighter 2, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Kill Bill, Ninja Scroll and a "chola fight" he saw in Tijuana, Mexico.[3] He told Skwigly said that the series is "deeply inspired by the glorious Mesoamerican art" and Museo Nacional de Antropologia exhibits. He noted that the show's protagonist, Maya, is inspired by his mother, wife, and sister, and hinted that it would have similarities to his previous works, El Tigre and The Book of Life.[13]

The series was released on Netflix on October 22, 2021.[16][3] Netflix described it as an "animated event told in nine epic chapters".[7][1] Each episode in the limited series is 30 minutes long, comprising a total of 4 and half hours.[17][18]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 100% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 8.60/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Jorge R. Gutirrez's joyous fantasy Maya and the Three excels thanks to a blockbuster-caliber voice cast and striking animation, delivering an adventure that will enrapture adults and kids alike."[19]

Lovia Gyarkye, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, called every scene a "feast for the eyes" (...) adding that it " is an engaging and twisting adventure, rooted in the rich history of indigenous cultures and led by Maya, who is seeking answers about her past and trying to save her kingdom", concluding that "each episode offers opportunities to deepen our understanding of this fantastical world and to relish the visual depth of Gutirrez's adeptly constructed and absolutely stunning series."[20] Cristina Escobar of Remezcla described the show as "decidedly Mexican," noted that the series is "the brainchild of Mexican/Mexican Americans," and pointed out ways that the series "honors Mexican culture," especially on ideas about death, intense imagery, tying one's love to sacrifice, the language, and uplifting indigenous people.[21]

In May 2022, Netflix canceled its follow-up miniseries, Kung-Fu Death Punch.[27] Originally conceived as a stand-alone feature film at the 2017 Annecy Film Festival,[28] but transitioned to a 9-episode miniseries follow-up to Maya and the Three sometime after.[29] Showrunner Gutirrez stated in a tweet on Twitter that "the project is not dead. Just not moving forward at Netflix Animation."[30]

Maya is the titular main protagonist of the miniseries Maya and the Three. She is the princess of the Kingdom of Teca. She is a warrior demigoddess, daughter of King Teca and Lady Micte, Goddess of Death and the stepdaughter of Queen Teca. Maya was destined to be the one who would slay Lord Mictlan, the God of War. To fulfil this prophecy, she journeyed to find the other purported members of the prophecy-the Rooster Wizard, the Skull Archer and the Puma Warrior. After being killed in the final battle against Lord Mictlan, Maya was resurrected as the Goddess of the Sun, due to her sacrifices and deeds.

Maya was born to King Teca and Lady Micte. Micte initially conceived her to sacrifice her and gain enough power to become more powerful than her husband, Lord Mictlan. But after Maya was born, Micte found herself unable to do so, coming to love the child. However, Lord Mictlan was willing to sacrifice Maya while she was still an infant, as he knew that the demigod child of Death was the only thing capable of harming him. Micte however persuaded him to wait until Maya was fifteen, on the pretext that it would make her husband stronger as a result, but it was actually to save Maya's life. Mictlan gleefully agreed and Micte led Maya to her human father and wife with the help of a forest spirit to be raised by them. King Teca recognized the necklace that Maya had on her neck, which belonged to the Goddess of Death and knew that it was his daughter. Queen Teca at first was angry, after learning about her husband's affair with Lady Micte, but finally forgive him after accepting Maya as her daughter. Maya grew up in the Kingdom of Teca, believing that her mother was the Queen, although it was actually Lady Micte.

Maya infiltrated some illegal fights, right on the day of her coronation. Under the pseudonym "Eagle Claw," Maya challenged the best wrestler in the tournament, the Bear Killah, of whom she was a fervent admirer and fought against him. While they fought Maya constantly apologized to him when she landed a hit. When she defeated him, Maya was ecstatic, but the Bear Killah recovered quickly and dislocated her shoulder. When Maya rose, ready to fight till the end, Chiapa arrived at the fight, having been sent by Maya's parents to bring her back. He arrived just as Maya was hit by the Bear Killah, leaving her unconscious. Chiapa then took her back to the palace.

In the palace, Maya was laid on her bed, with a black eye and a dislocated shoulder. Her mother, Queen Teca, fixed her shoulder and told her that she had dreamt of Maya's coronation for fifteen years. However, Maya said that she did not want to be a diplomat like Queen Teca, but a warrior like her brothers. But her father, King Teca, told her that her brothers are not just warriors, but the Jaguars of the prophecy and he is the Eagle who will fight against the gods of the Underworld one day. Maya however believed that prophecy was just a story and that gods didn't exist. After her father leaves, her angry mother tells him that being a leader is more than just fighting, and that it is full of sacrifices. Maya, angered, said that it was not fair and her mother, infuriated, broke the mask that she used for her clandestine fights and forbade her from fighting again. Maya, heartbroken, blurts out that she wished Queen Teca wasn't her mother but quickly felt bad and tried to apologize. Her mother however, left the room after telling a maid to prepare Maya for the coronation.

While the maid prepared Maya, she still felt bad about her words and wanted her mother to give her a chance to be a warrior. When the day of her coronation finally arrived, the other kingdoms came to Teca to honor Maya - Luna Island, the Jungle Lands and the Golden Mountains. Before Maya showed up, she decided to accept a life of diplomacy for her kingdom because she believed that her mother could be right. Right after the coronation, an unexpected, unwelcome guest arrived, interrupting the coronation. The guest was Zatz, an emissary of Lord Mictlan, the God of War. He said that he had come to take Princess Maya to the Underworld to be sacrificed and revealed that Lady Micte the Goddess of Death is her real mother, leaving Maya confused.

Maya's parents are not willing to give away their daughter, so her father and brothers decided to confront Zatz. Maya wants to help them but her mother says that they are not her places and wants her to let her father and brothers take care of it, but interrupts when Zatz, blowing a trumpet, calls two stone giants and Maya wishes to help her father and brothers but is stopped by the warriors. During the fight the jaguar triplets fought against Zatz are knocked down by him and King Teca fought against the two giants finally knocks them down, but loses an arm and Maya goes to help him. After that, Zatz leaves after telling Maya "to be well and he would see her soon", King and Queen Teca summon to fight the dark gods but the kingdoms do not trust that they could bring victory and leave after Maya said that they must fight for the Tecas. With her father injured Maya tells him that they will solve it but her father says that there is nothing to solve and that they are at war with the gods for her and they embrace.

As Teca's warriors prepare to destroy the Divine Gate that connects to the world of the gods, Maya spies on her parents who are conversing about Maya's true origin with the help of her brothers, but she soon falls and her parents pick her up. Then Maya was angry with her father could have told her the truth sooner that her real mother is Lady Micte and her father says that when she was little, they thought it was wrong to tell her and when they thought of telling her it had been a long time. Maya then says how he could betray his wife and asks her mother if she was mad and she says yes and that was the first time she stabbed him. Then her parents tell her the truth, when she was a baby the spirits of the forest brought her towards them, her father recognized her by the necklace she wore since it belonged to Lady Micte and although Queen Teca was still angry, she wasn't angry with Maya since she was just an innocent baby.

Maya begins to hate her real mother for having abandoned her and because she wants to kill her, and her father for lying to her, but the queen reconciles her and tells her that although she did not give birth to her, she raised her and that she will always be her mother and part of her then the two embrace. Then Maya tells her mother "if she's a demigoddess she's invincible" and she says no. When her father, her brothers and the army of Teca prepare to leave, Maya asks her mother if she will let her go with them to see how they destroy the divine gate, but her mother asks her to stay and help protect the kingdom. Maya says goodbye to her brothers and her father, just before leaving, her father says to his daughter "if it is to be" and she says "it is up to me" and they leave, from a distance Maya tells them with a raised voice that they would show the gods the fury of the Tecas.

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