Viola Davis takes no prisoners in the trailer for Gina Prince-Bythewood’s new historical action drama The Woman King, inspired by the true story of the Agojie, the female warriors of the Kingdom of Dahomey.
It may inspire thoughts of Black Panther, whose fictional Dora Milaje were inspired by the same real-life warriors.
In the trailer, which you can watch above, General Nanisca (Viola Davis) leads the Agojie on their quest to protect their kingdom. It’s the 1800s, and they are threatened with colonization. To fight back, Nanisca trains the next generation of woman warriors.
John Boyega, who plays King Ghezo, narrates the beginning of trailer with a somber message: “An evil is coming that threatens our kingdom, our freedom. But we have a weapon they are not prepared for.”
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“My king, the Europeans wish to conquer us. They will not stop until the whole of Africa is theirs. We must fight back for our people,” General Nanisca tells King Ghezo.
“Nanisca, you are asking me to take them to war,” he says.
“Some things are worth fighting for,” Nanisca replies.
The cast also includes Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Adrienne Warren, Sheila Atim, Jayme Lawson and Hero Fiennes Tiffin. In addition to directing, Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard, Beyond the Lights) wrote the film with Dana Stevens. And in addition to starring, Davis also serves as a producer alongside Cathy Schulman, Julius Tennon, and Maria Bello, while Peter McAleese served as executive producer and Dale Butler served as co-producer.
Costume design was done by Gersha Phillips, who also worked on multiple series in the Star Trek franchise, House of Cards, Are We There Yet?, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.
People on Twitter started to make the connection between The Woman King and Black Panther on Wednesday, pointing out the similarities between the Dora Milaje and the Agojie. See some of the tweets below:
The Dora Milaje in Black Panther are based on them. pic.twitter.com/TAJfgyKP20
— AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY (@AfricanArchives) July 6, 2022
Everything we did for Black Panther WE NEED TO DO DOUBLE FOR THIS https://t.co/eegMCORuJY
— Caliban ???????? (@Khuze_Elikhulu) July 6, 2022
I thought this was about Black Panther at first. https://t.co/GnuKBlatJI
— Daniel Abudu. (@unorthodox_dan) July 6, 2022
The Woman King arrives in theaters Oct. 4.
Main Image: Viola Davis in The Woman King
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