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The Woman King

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The Woman King
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGina Prince-Bythewood
Screenplay by
Story byMaria Bello
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPolly Morgan
Edited byTerilyn A. Shropshire
Music byTerence Blanchard
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
  • September 2022 (2022-09) (TIFF)
  • September 16, 2022 (2022-09-16) (United States)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Woman King is an upcoming American historical epic film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, who wrote the screenplay with Dana Stevens, from a story conceived by Maria Bello. It is based on the true story of the Dahomey Amazons, an all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey. It stars Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and John Boyega. Davis and Bello also produced the film. The film is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022, and will be theatrically released in the United States on September 16, 2022, by Sony Pictures Releasing.

Synopsis

The film focuses on General Nanisca of the Dahomey Amazons and Nawi, an ambitious recruit. It depicts how they "fought enemies who violated their honor, enslaved their people, and threatened to destroy everything they have lived for."[1]

Cast

Production

Viola Davis speaking at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con International, for "Suicide Squad", in San Diego, California.
Viola Davis was first to join the cast, doing so in 2018

The Woman King was developed by producers Maria Bello and Cathy Schulman, written by Dana Stevens with contributions by Gina Prince-Bythewood, and directed by Prince-Bythewood.[12] It is a co-production between TriStar Pictures and Entertainment One.[13] On September 19, 2015, during the Women Making History Awards at the Skirball Cultural Center's National Women's History Museum in Los Angeles, Bello presented an award to actress Viola Davis.[14][15] Bello took the opportunity to pitch her idea for the movie in front of the crowd. Davis recalled the audience "went wild" at the idea of seeing her in the lead role of the historical epic.[12] In March 2018, Davis and Lupita Nyong'o were announced to star,[2] but the latter dropped out before production began. The rest of the ensemble cast was revealed between April 2021 and January 2022.[3][11]

On crafting the story, Prince-Bythewood said, "We didn't want to show them as just one thing—badass women who killed. They also laughed and loved and cried. We wanted to show their full humanity, not just the cool part that that would look good in a trailer." Davis said the training for her role "started intensely a few months before shooting—four hours a day, five days a week. Weight training, sprinting, martial arts, and weaponry training for the machete."[12] Principal photography began in November 2021 in South Africa with cinematographer Polly Morgan.[16][17] During post-production, the musical score was composed by Terence Blanchard; he previously collaborated with Prince-Bythewood on the film Love & Basketball (2000) and the television shows Shots Fired and Swagger.[18][19] South African composer Lebo M. composed and produced five original songs for the film.[20][21] Editing was completed by Terilyn A. Shropshire, who previously worked with Prince-Bythewood on The Old Guard (2020).[22]

Release

The Woman King will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022,[23] and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on September 16, 2022, by Sony Pictures Releasing.[24]

Historical accuracy

Conservative news publications, including The Daily Signal and the Washington Examiner, have questioned and criticized the historical accuracy of the film for failing to recognize and address the realities of the Kingdom of Dahomey.[25][26] Rather than being a kingdom fighting for pan-African unity and resistance to foreign invasion, in truth the conflicts depicted centered around the slave trade. The Kingdom of Dahomey was heavily invested in capturing and selling Africans slaves. The slave trade was a cornerstone of their wealth and prestige in the area, and the military of the Kingdom routinely engaged in raids and warfare for the explicit purpose of selling and keeping captives.[27] For example, historian Martin Meredith quotes Ghezo (portrayed by Boyega) telling the British, "The slave trade has been the ruling principle of my people. It is the source of their glory and wealth. Their songs celebrate their victories and the mother lulls the child to sleep with notes of triumph over an enemy reduced to slavery."[28]

The primary conflict of the movie appears to be centered around the Second Franco-Dahomean War, given the conflict with Europeans and the inclusion of a character named Nawi. The historical Nawi is often regarded as the last of the Minon, also referred to as the Dahomey Amazons. King Ghezo (portrayed by Boyega) ruled the kingdom from 1818–1858, while both the First and Second Franco-Dahomean wars took place between 1890 and 1894 and were presided over by King Béhanzin. It is important to note, that both of these conflicts were the result of Dahomey raids against their neighbors that were under the protection of the French Third Republic.[29] After defeat in the first war, Béhanzin took time to regroup the Dahomey forces and made subsequent attacks in 1892 [30]. The kingdom was reduced and made a French protectorate in 1894.[31]. In 1904, the area became part of a French colony, French Dahomey.

References

  1. ^ Grobar, Matt (February 1, 2022). "The Woman King First Look: Viola Davis & Thuso Mbedu Lead Gina Prince-Bythewood's Historical Epic For TriStar". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Hipes, Patrick (March 1, 2018). "The Woman King Starring Viola Davis & Lupita Nyong'o Lives To Fight At TriStar". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Kroll, Justin (April 28, 2021). "Underground Railroad's Thuso Mbedu To Star Opposite Viola Davis In The Woman King". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  4. ^ Kit, Borys; Galuppo, Mia (September 2, 2021). "Lashana Lynch Joins Viola Davis in Historical Epic The Woman King (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Kit, Borys (September 27, 2021). "Adrienne Warren, Sheila Atim Join Viola Davis in Historical Drama The Woman King (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 7, 2021). "The Woman King: Jayme Lawson, Hero Fiennes Tiffin & Masali Baduza Join TriStar Viola Davis Historical Epic". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  7. ^ Kit, Borys (September 21, 2021). "John Boyega Joins Viola Davis in Historical Drama The Woman King (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d Kroll, Justin (November 9, 2021). "TriStar's Woman King Starring Viola Davis Adds Four Including Angelique Kidjo". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  9. ^ Gaanakgomo, Constance (January 19, 2022). "Zozibini Tunzi bags acting debut on The Woman King, joins Thuso Mbedu". TimesLIVE. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  10. ^ Mandivengerei, Paidashe (January 10, 2022). "Isidingo's Makgotso Cast In The Woman King". NewZimbabwe. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Modis, Kedibone (January 25, 2022). "Siv Ngesi joins cast of The Woman King". Independent Online. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c Zook, Kristal Brent (July 5, 2022). "Behold The Woman King: Viola Davis on Playing Real-Life Warrior General". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 25, 2021). "eOne Boarding Tri-Star Pictures' The Woman King As Co-Financier". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  14. ^ Rosemberg, Jasmin (September 14, 2015). "Emmy Parties 2015: The Ultimate Guide". Variety. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  15. ^ Washington, Arlene (September 20, 2015). "Emmys: Viola Davis Discusses Emmy Routine, Paving Way for Black Actresses". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  16. ^ Kasule, Melissa (September 23, 2021). "Historical epic The Woman King set to film in South Africa". Kemps Film and TV Production Services Handbook. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; September 24, 2021 suggested (help)
  17. ^ Morgan, Polly (November 29, 2021). Surviving high winds, rough seas and covid variants to make a special movie. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Instagram.
  18. ^ Mphande, Joy (December 1, 2021). "Lebo M talks about The Woman King, his reality show and his book". TimesLIVE. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  19. ^ "Terence Blanchard to Score Gina Prince-Bythewood's The Woman King". Film Music Reporter. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  20. ^ Mphande, Joy (November 23, 2021). "Lebo M joins star-studded Hollywood project The Woman King". HeraldLIVE. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  21. ^ "SA's Lebo M composes key songs for The Woman King Movie". SABC News. December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  22. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (January 31, 2022). "TCM Classic Film Fest Sets 40th Anniversary Screening of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial with Steven Spielberg". Variety. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  23. ^ Lang, Brent (July 19, 2022). "'The Woman King,' Historical Epic With Viola Davis, to Premiere at Toronto Film Festival". Variety. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  24. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 5, 2021). "Sony Dates TriStar Viola Davis Pic The Woman King; Moves Affirm's George Foreman Biopic To 2023". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  25. ^ Blair, Douglas (July 15, 2022). "Woke Hollywood Celebrates Slavers Because They're Black Women". The Daily Signal. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  26. ^ Tremoglie, Christopher (July 13, 2022). "The Woman King conveniently ignores empire's slave-owning roots". Washington Examiner. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  27. ^ Law, Robin (July 1986). "Dahomey and the Slave Trade: Reflections on the Historiography of the Rise of Dahomey". The Journal of African History. 27 (2): 237–267. doi:10.1017/S0021853700036665. ISSN 1469-5138. S2CID 165754199.
  28. ^ Meredith, Martin (2014). The Fortunes of Africa. New York: PublicAffairs. p. 193. ISBN 9781610396356.
  29. ^ Alpern, Stanley B (1998). Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey. New York University Press. pp. 192–193. ISBN 9780814706770.
  30. ^ Alpern, p. 21.
  31. ^ Newbury, C. W. (1959). "A Note on the Abomey Protectorate". Africa. 29 (2): 146–155. doi:10.2307/1157517. JSTOR 1157517. S2CID 145105979.
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