Viola Davis Reigns as “The Woman King”

Viola Davis, one of the most versatile African American actor in mainstream TV and film, just teased her new movie “The Woman King”

Tomorrow. Agojie… @WomanKingMovie pic.twitter.com/sIbyxFKzbe

— Viola Davis (@violadavis) July 5, 2022

Davis was an iconic lawyer in “How to Get Away with Murder,” and she tackled the great injustices of segration-era United States in “The Help.” While not her first action movie, Davis will be tackling her first Afrocentric, action hero, lead role in this new movie.

Directed and co-written by Gina Prince-Bythewood, “The Woman King” is inspired by the recorded history of the Kingdom of Dahomey. It was one of the most influential and powerful civilizations in 18th to 19th century Africa.

Viola Davis plays the role of General Nanisca of the all-female military regiment named the Dahomey Amazons. The film follows the general and Nawi (played by Thuso Mbedu), an ambitious recruit, as they fight their kingdom’s enemies who enslaved their people, violated their honor, and threatened to destroy their kingdom. And as this is a hero movie afterall, everyone of the Dahomey Amazons looks fierce, regal, and glorious as they axe, hack, and slash in the battlefield.

With the surge of historical biopics, and epics in the film industry, we are glad to see a story firmly told from a history-inspired film told from the Afrocentric perspective. With stories like this rarely told in the history classes and mainstream pop culture, you bet that this movie is on top of BLAC’s must-see this year.

Joining Davis are a cast of prolific actors: Lashana Lynch, John Boyega, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Thuso Mbedu, and Jayme Lawson.

The movie drops this September 16, 2022 and will be exclusive to movie theaters.