Viola Davis and John Boyega on How 'The Woman King' Puts Women at the Forefront (Exclusive)
etonline.comAccording to Viola Davis, is more than a film about warriors — it's a movie about possibilities. 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 general Nanisca but shares that once she began the work, it opened her eyes.«When I started the martial arts [training], I was like, 'I'm 56, I'm a woman, I can't take down this dude, I can't do this, I can't do that.
And then suddenly I could,» Davis tells ET's Thando Dlomo on the set of the film. «I saw my possibility. I see that every day when I come to work.
I see the possibilities in women.»Davis' experience speaks to the significance of the film's premise — a historical saga following the Agojie, an all-female army in the West African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The intense action is akin to movies like or, which typically aren't led by a cast of mostly women. Especially Black women.Co-written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, is a marked shift in how media usually depicts Black women.
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