'The Woman King' Trailer: Viola Davis Leads Epic Saga About African Female Warriors
Prepare to see Viola Davis like you’ve never seen her before. The 56-year-old actress transforms into General Nanisca, the leader of an all-female group of African warriors known as the Agojie, in the first trailer for the upcoming epic new film The Woman King.
Co-written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Woman King tells the story of Nanisca and the incredible fighters who protected the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s as the general trains the next generation of recruits for battle against colonists who threaten to destroy their way of life.
“The Woman King will tell one of history’s greatest forgotten stories from the real world in which we live, where an army of African warrior women staved off slavery, colonialism and inter-tribal warfare to unify a nation,” producer Cathy Schulman said of the project when it was first revealed. Both she and Maria Bello, who is also a producer on the film, first pitched the idea in 2015 before the film was officially announced in 2018.
In addition to Davis, the film stars Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin as well as The Underground Railroad’s Thuso Mbedu as Nawi and John Boyega as King Ghezo.
The Woman King is slated to debut in theaters on Sept. 16.
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