Exclusive: Director Gina Prince-Bythewood talks researching and casting The Woman King
Currently playing in theaters nationwide from Sony Pictures is Gina Prince-Bythewood's directed historical African epic The Woman King.
Over the weekend, the film debut atop the box office with about $19M, making Prince-Bythewood the second Black woman director to have a #1 movie at the U.S domestic box office. She joins Nia DaCosta, who was the first with 2021’s Candyman.
The film also hold a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and scored an A+ cinemascore from audiences who saw the film.
Starring Oscar winner Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, John Boyega, Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren, Sheila Atim, Jayme Lawson, Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Masali Baduza, the pic is based on true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Oscar winner Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. Some things are worth fighting for…
The unit is the inspiration behind the Dora Milaje in “Black Panther,” and its story has never been told on screen before.
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the story is by Maria Bello and Dana Stevens and the screenplay by Dana Stevens. Produced by Cathy Schulman, Viola Davis, Julius Tennon and Maria Bello, Peter McAleese serves as executive producer.
Although Prince-Bythewood has been directing film for over two decades, with films such as Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, and Beyond The LIghts, one can say that it was her last film, Netflix’s action film The Old Guard that convinced the powers that be that she was more than capable to directing this action packed all-female military unit film. Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales spoke with Prince-Bythewood about her experiences on the film, from doing research on the story to its casting.