The Woman King is a 2022 American quasi-historical action-adventure film about the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries.

The film also stars Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and John Boyega.

Following the festival screening, the film received generally positive reviews from critics,[5][6] with praise directed towards Davis's performance and the action choreography.

At the 28th Critics' Choice Awards the film received nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Director, and Best Actress for Davis.

In the West African kingdom of Dahomey in 1823,[8] General Nanisca, leader of the all-female regiment of warriors, the Agojie, liberates Dahomean women who were abducted by slavers from the Oyo Empire.

Shortly after graduating from training to become a full-fledged Agojie, Nawi sneaks off to speak with Malik and learns that the Oyo are planning to attack.

Ghezo prepares to bestow the title of Woman King, his partner and equal in ruling Dahomey, upon Nanisca, but refuses to authorise a rescue mission for the captive Agojie.

The triumphant Agojie return to Dahomey, where Ghezo privately and briefly admonishes Nanisca for disobeying him, before crowning her the Woman King.

[23][24] In 2017, without a script or director, the producers met with TriStar's then-chief Hannah Minghella and then-senior vice president Nicole Brown.

[2] In early 2018, the commercial success of the superhero movie Black Panther, which featured a fictionalized version of the Agojie, further motivated the crew to move forward with the project.

"[23] For four months before the shoot, the cast performed 90 minutes a day of weight lifting with trainer Gabriela Mclain, followed by three-and-a-half hours of fight training with stunt coordinator Danny Hernandez, which included running, martial arts, and working with swords and spears.

[28][29] For the score, Blanchard enlisted the nine-voice Vox Noire ensemble, who worked with him on his opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones, with jazz singer Dianne Reeves as his soloist.

"[45] Kate Erbland of IndieWire said, "A hell of a time at the movies, a seemingly 'niche' topic with great appeal, the sort of battle-heavy feature that will likely engender plenty of hoots and hollers.

[7][49] Gyarkye said, "The Oscar-winning actress, known for digging into her characters' psyches, accesses an impressive level of emotional depth and nuance as Nanisca.

[8] James said that the representation of history and culture "leans toward fantasy in its heroic moments, but is rooted in [the] truth about war, brutality, and freedom.

"[48] Gyarkye said that it "begins as portraiture and then surrenders to melodrama when faced with the challenges of translating history for the screen and constructing a coherent geopolitical thread.

During the rule of King Ghezo, Agojie warriors were recruited from a wider pool, including prisoners of war captured from neighboring states.

[86] King Ghezo (played by John Boyega) was a historical figure who ruled Dahomey from 1818 to 1858 during the kingdom's political and economic "golden age.

[90] According to Meilan Solly of Smithsonian, Dahomey was "a key player" in the Atlantic slave trade; it began the sale of West African captives to Europeans in the late 17th and the early 18th centuries.

[92] In The Woman King, the Mahi people, allies of the Oyo Empire, raid Dahomean villages and sell the subjects into slavery.

However, Nanisca's anti-slavery stance is at odds with the actions of real-life Agojie generals such as Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh, who sought to acquire captives by raiding the Egba fortress of Abeokuta in 1851.

The historian John C. Yoder suggested that in the mid-1840s, some Agojie began to oppose conflict with Abeokuta and to support a more moderate stance on the slave trade.

[86] Ghezo ultimately agreed to end Dahomey's participation in the overseas slave trade in 1852 because of pressure from the British government.

[89][90] Los Angeles Times reported that online critics complained that "the movie seemingly uplifts the women without fully acknowledging that the Dahomey tribe sold other Africans into slavery" though others defended the film.

That narrative of criticism was broadened by the voices of American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS), which vehemently called for a boycott of the film by arguing it glorified a kingdom responsible for brutalizing its ancestors.

Adding to the chorus of disapproval were specialists in 19th-century Dahomey history, who raised flags over inaccuracies in the film's representation of the slave trade.

Moreover, a segment of the social media populace, advocating for the portrayal of more positive black stories, questioned the decision to focus on Dahomey.

[96] On The Mary Sue website, Rachel Ulatowski wrote, "The major reason for the controversy surrounding The Woman King is that it is allegedly historically inaccurate.

One point that has sparked controversy is The Woman King‘s historically inaccurate depiction of the kingdom of Dahomey’s attitude towards slavery.

The Wrap noyed, "Critics don’t have an issue with Davis playing a strong Black leader in “The Woman King,” but are alarmed that the history of the Dahomey tribe, who sold other Africans into slavery, has been whitewashed.