The Woman King

Oprah sits down with Viola Davis to discuss her new film, The Woman King. Davis reveals her grueling transformation into Nanisca, a general of an all-female ...

Access OWN anytime on Watch OWN and discovery+ across mobile devices and connected TVs. Oprah Winfrey's heart and creative instincts inform the brand and the magnetism of the channel. Viola Davis stars as a general who trains the next generation of warriors to fight their enemies. ET/PT and encore replay immediately following), three days prior to the September 16 wide release of Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis' epic film "The Woman King." Davis reveals her grueling transformation into Nanisca, a general of an all-female army in 19th Century Africa. Oprah sits down with Viola Davis to discuss her new film, The Woman King.

The cast of The Woman King – Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, and Adrienne Warren – are Essence cover stars, proving "that the power of ...

The film, shot on location in South Africa, opens in local cinemas on 30 September 2022. - The film, shot on location in South Africa, opens in local cinemas on 30 September 2022. The cast of The Woman King – Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, and Adrienne Warren – are the cover stars, proving "that the power of community and loving with intent prevails in every Kingdom".

The actor and producer says early career slights angered and inspired her to set her sights higher in Hollywood.

I want people to be moved by my life and moved by the roles. You have a 250-pound man you have to flip, you have to believe you can do it. When it was over, I thought, “Now what?” I kept getting the same roles but asked myself, “How else would they cast a dark-skinned Black woman?” I’d get two days there, three days of work on a project and that was it. You have to tap into that warrior spirit, the part of you that believes that being a woman, being smaller than that person coming at you, that you can still do it. I kept hearing, “Is there some way we could put a man in it?” I said, “It’s about a female unit?” Then I heard, “Can we still put a man in?” We said, “We’re not going to change the script. I appreciate clean sheets, good food and a new bed because there were times in life when I didn’t have those things. There is a deficit of roles for Black actresses and a deficit of value. They were the ones the king didn’t want to marry. They protected the west African kingdom of Dahomey from all enemies in the 18th and 19th centuries. Davis portrays female warrior and general Nanisca in the historical saga inspired by the true events of the all-female Agojie unit. “It broke my heart and made me angry,” the actress says. “You hit your bottom, and then you begin to create a new life for yourself.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the film were the Dora Milaje — an elite army of women warriors who defended the fictional kingdom of Wakanda. The women ...

It will be interesting to see how this film will depict the Kingdom of Dahomey and its women warriors. The truth is, all the history of the Kingdom of Dahomey is a lot to take in. Archuleta is an author, poet, blogger, and host of the FearlessINK podcast. Becoming a Mino was a way for many of the women to obtain wealth, status, and influence. What I found interesting is that the women remained single, dedicating their lives to the kingdom and avoiding things associated with traditional womanhood. Unfortunately, much of the documentation about the women warriors comes from the perspectives of white visitors and documenters, including naming them Amazons. The Kingdom of Dahomey kept some captives to enslave, forcing them to work on plantations and cultivate food for its army and royalty. It transitioned to a self-governing colony, the Republic of Dahomey, with full independence in 1960. The Kingdom of Dahomey eventually became French Dahomey, a colony, ten years later. It’s also exciting to learn that the inspiration for these powerful women is rooted in reality. The kingdom would capture people and sell them in the Atlantic slave trade in exchange for rifles, tobacco, and alcohol. Now, the Agojie are the focus of the new film, The Woman King.

The 56-year-old star and producer of the upcoming historical epic admits that she was initially apprehensive about the physical reality of starring as Agojie ...

In this exclusive debut, director Gina Prince-Bythewood and singer-songwriter Jessy Wilson take us inside the end-credits tune.

The way it’s just music, there’s no speaking, it’s just a look in Denzel’s eyes and then Sam telling the story. I feel like that’s the peak of that experience, moments like that. Music is so important and I just like immediately heard it and I was bumpin’. And we’re talking about the song and I say something like, “Yeah, I’m so surprised that no one has really gravitated toward this song, I think it’s so powerful.” And he said, “Yeah, but did you hear about this Sony picture that’s interested in it?” Now, mind you, I am a huge Viola Davis fan, like, oh, my God. So I got to talk to her about just adjusting a few lyrics, to really stay true to the film. And Jeremy had a snippet of a piano part for this song. But I went into the studio this day and everything was happening: we’re in this pandemic, we’re in quarantine to a certain extent, and the world is beginning to see—on a large scale through social media and through the stillness—how black people are being treated in America and all around the world. And I remember going to his place, late 2020, wearing a mask. And to be completely honest, it hasn’t been my focus. Wilson and The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood spoke to The A.V. Club about the particular origins of this song, Additionally, they revealed the secret to a great original theme song, picking some of their favorites from other films. And if a fiercely ripped Viola Davis massacring slavers weren’t enough, there’s a powerful original song that plays over the end credits to inspire you: “Keep Rising (The Woman King),” written by Jessy Wilson, Jeremy Lutito, and Angélique Kidjo.

The Woman King has a brand new clip ahead of that big release date on September 16. On Twitter, Fandango gave fans another look at the Viola Davis action ...

We wanted to show their full humanity, not just the cool part that that would look good in a trailer." Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Oscar®-winner Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. [Check out the clip](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/viola-davis-fans-celebrate-the-woman-king-movie/) for yourself down below. "We didn't want to show them as just one thing-badass women who killed," Prince-Bythewood told the publication. "And to be a producer on it, and to know that I had a hand in bringing it to fruition.... On Twitter, Fandango [gave fans another look](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/the-woman-king-new-poster/) at the [Viola Davis](/category/viola-davis/) action movie.

The historic saga will premiere exclusively in theaters this month. the woman king viola davis Image via Sony. The Woman King is undoubtedly ...

The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Ahead of its hotly anticipated theater release in a week's time, The Woman King will make its world premiere at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival which opened yesterday September 8, and will run through to September 18. The Woman King is undoubtedly Viola Davis's most anticipated project of the year.

How "The Woman King" costume designer Gersha Phillips built warrior costumes for Viola Davis and John Boyega using African craftspeople.

“The palace tunics had gold embroidery, but Nanisca’s had the most embroidery added in,” Phillips says. “That was actually an Ethiopian bedsheet that we took apart and made into a robe,” she says. Phillips integrated cowry shells into the movie’s costumes. Since the women were going to be moving a lot, Phillips says, “I had to consider functionality. “Her look was elevated and always had extra detail.” The film starring Viola Davis will debut Sept.

The winds of change with theatrical and streaming coming out of Covid were top of mind this morning at the TIFF panel for Dialogues: Production ...

“I think there will be a lot of studios and streamers which will make less movies than they’re making now, and make them for less money,” said the producer. Given the zany feature marketplace, more than ever, producers have to be agnostic as to where their stories will be told. It’s the opportunity to do something new. “It’s easer to say ‘yes’ to something when you look at the past,” Brown explains. Because the streaming market is a wonderful place to pivot.” Your cast has to be as strong as possible.

It is the 1800s and the fearless Agojie, an all-woman military collective, is stronger than ever. However, King Ghezo (John Boyega) and General Nanisca (Viola ...

And that is a story that is certainly worth exploration. For Davis, it was about marrying the strength and vision it took to be a warrior with the more vulnerable parts of Nanisca’s life story and secrets. The Agojie give up their lives in service to their sisterhood and nation. But when you look at a person and you look at how they interact in relationships, when you look at how they see themselves, I feel like there’s always a secret behind it.” And they do not have to worry about the many woes that women faced during this time period. Unlike many women of that time period, the Agojie are able to lead a different life.

As a huge fan of movies like Gladiator and Braveheart, and an admirer of directors like Kathryn Bigalow, these are the movies she's been wanting to make but, ...

And I always knew that The Old Guard, I always knew that it was a trilogy and I loved where it was going, but I said what I wanted to say and The Woman King came and this just trumped everything. And to be able to tell the story of these two women, and obviously don’t want to give it away, but it was important to me to have this story but also have it be truthful because I know the truth. When I do a film, I put everything into it and even if I haven’t written the original script, I’m still writing on it and putting myself into it and it’s like, this is what I wanted to say. And it’s like it really hit me when that almost coda of after all the action is over and I was like, this is, especially with people who know your story. And I wanted the actors to have a 360 environment to play in so that when they’re walking around in the clothes that they’re wearing, they’re not looking over and seeing a car or an airplane up ahead. I wanted the scope and the epic feel to it. For me, as a filmmaker and my vision, this is the movie I wanted to tell: both intimate and epic and have that personal story weaved in. Don Granger, at Skydance, his final argument to me was, we make movies for an audience and this will give you the biggest audience and so I was like, “Okay, cool.” But then to actually have a film that drops in 190 countries on the same day, on the same moment, I’ve never… I mean, that are visceral and raw and real and I never wanted to get away from that. So I just kept making these personal films that I wanted to make in hopes that it would eventually lead to something bigger. The idea of The Woman King has been floating around for a while and it kind of seems like fate the Prince-Bythewood would wind up directing after the success of The Old Guard. [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://uproxx.com/tag/gina-prince-bythewood/) says [The Woman King](https://uproxx.com/tag/the-woman-king/) is the movie she’s always wanted to make.