Viola Davis Trains For War In Epic ‘The Woman King’ Trailer: Watch

Viola Davis, 56, is at war in her upcoming action film The Woman King, which arrives in theaters on September 16. Sony Pictures Entertainment released the thrilling trailer on July 6 that centers around Viola’s character General Nanisca, the leader of the Dahomey Amazons who are a group of female African warriors. The Kingdom of Dahomey is led by King Ghezo, played by John Boyega. “An evil is coming that threatens our kingdom,” King Ghezo says in the trailer. “Our freedom. But we have a weapon they are not prepared for.”

Nansica convinces the King to prepare for war against the European colonists, who “wish to conquer” their land. “They will not stop until the whole of Africa is theirs. We must fight back for our people,” Nansica says. She trains new recruits of the Dahomey Amazons including Nawi, played by Thuso Mbedu.

Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Adrienne Warren also star in The Woman King. Lupita Nyong’o was cast but dropped out before production officially began. Gina Prince-Bythewood directs the film. She co-wrote the screenplay with Dana Stevens, while the story is by Maria Bello.

“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 previously said of the film. The Woman King was pitched to Viola way back in 2015 and was green lit by Sony Pictures three years later. We can’t wait to see Viola take on the role of yet another strong female in this epic movie.