THE WOMAN KING is a unique movie. It's an action-heavy story about the all-female warrior unit which, for many decades served as a West African kingdom's primary protection starting in the 17th century. But it's also a drama and a look into a culture that we rarely if ever see on the big screen.
Viola Davis stars General Nanisca, leader of the fighting Agojie, who sparks a war with a neighboring empire after freeing women abducted by slavers. The action in THE WOMAN KING is intense and impressive — one review says "the magnitude and the awe this movie inspires are what epics like Gladiator and Braveheart are all about" — but there's also a generational drama here that proves to be as potent as the battle scenes.
We talked to Davis and her co-stars Lashana Lynch and Sheila Atim ahead of the movie's opening. All three women talked to us about the challenges and transformational experiences of making this movie. Crucially, Viola Davis emphasized "This is who I am. These are all of my possibilities." "I consider this movie to be the great metaphoric handshake," she said, "not only introducing an African and Black story that has never been told to the audience but introducing a movie where dark-skinned Black women are at the center of the narrative — introducing you to the narrative of who we are."
Watch our full video interview with the cast of THE WOMAN KING below:
THE WOMAN KING opens on September 16.
All images courtesy of Sony Pictures.