This article contains spoilers.

The idea behind The Woman King began with Maria Bello, an actress and activist, who co-produced the film, when she presented the concept to writer Dana Stevens (Fatherhood, City Of Angels). Bello spent a lot of time in West Africa where the film is set – in Benin, where Dahomey used to be. “She [Bello] came across this story of the Agojie (warriors) women and that the Dora Milaje character in Black Panther was also based on them,” said Stevens.

Maria Bello embarked on extensive research on the Ajogie women – drawings, culture, and technique. “As she was giving an award to Viola Davis (who plays Nanisca), she pitched The Woman King to her. Bello asked Davis, ‘Wouldn’t you love to see Viola in this movie?’” Despite the completely inappropriate approach, Davis signed on. The growing team of woman kings put together a look book/ pitch deck and eventually set it up at Columbia Tristar Pictures. Dana Stevens had just finished writing something with Tristar executive Nicole Brown. They worked on adapting a novel called The Nightingale which was about French sisters during World War II during the German occupation. Tristar was so impressed with Dana’s work, they offered her the opportunity to pitch on The Woman King.

The original pitch deck for the project was set in the 1890s. There was two hundred years of Agojie history, so Stevens wanted to expand the timeline.

Dana Stevens. Photo by David Mandel

“Tristar came up with the idea that Nanisca and Nawi (Thuso Mbedu) were mother and daughter from the outset and was included in the pitch deck. It wasn’t the reveal later in the film that it became. The pitch deck also featured the French Foreign Legion which largely wiped out the Agojie woman during that time.”

Dana conducted her own individual research into the era and searched for a battle that the Agojie woman actually won. “I was also thinking about Game Of Thrones. I didn’t want to see a bunch of white men killing black women. I wanted them to be triumphant.”

Stevens finally came across a book where the Agojie women decisively won a battle against the Oyo male warrior empire in 1823. “King Ghezo (John Boyega) was a new, young, sexy king who came to the throne by a coup that was supported by the Agojie which featured heavily in the film.”

Dana Stevens was also fascinated by the politics of Dahomey which allowed female leaders. She felt Nanisca, leader of the Agojie was the perfect role for Viola Davis. Stevens also wanted to explore the trans-Atlantic slave trade. “This was a time when the English had outlawed the trade and were patrolling the shores. It represented a time of possible change.” Dana also discovered that replacing the slave trade with palm oil was occurring there at the time.

“I found those truths on which I could hang the fictional character of Nanisca.” Since there was much more literature about the Agojie as a group than as individuals, Stevens created fictionalized characters from her research and write them as opponents of the lucrative slave trade.

The writer wanted to hold off revealing that Nawi was Nanisca’s daughter until much later in the story. “I wanted it to be like Shakespeare or Greek tragedy.” This scene proved to be one of the more challenging to write in the film.

The Woman King contains shades of Gladiator and Braveheart in its tone. Nanisca is a victim of trauma and forced to suppress her feelings. “This feeds into all her actions. Then, a person from her past returns and she has to face her feelings and forced to grow.”

Both Nawi and Nanisca are active dual protagonists, so Dana had to split the page count between them. “The Woman King functions as a love story. It’s essentially a two-hander. I wanted to check in with each of them emotionally as they are slowly brought together before pulling them apart again.”

Nanisca (Viola Davis) Photo courtesy of Columbia Tristar Pictures

Dana Stevens worked on the screenplay for about two years before director Gina Prince-Bythewood (Biker Boyz, Love And Basketball) came on board. As the film came together, they had to balance the predominantly action movie with its character components. “Gina and I agreed on it being an action film, but the studio wanted more focus on the emotion.”

The Woman King richly explores sisterhood and female camaraderie. “I also wanted to explore what it was like for a woman to put her body on the line as a warrior. What does she give up and what does she gain?” The Agojie women forfeit the joy of romance and motherhood, but gain a family that respects and values them.

“Nanisca and some of the Agojie women think it’s a weakness to become a mother. Caring might cause them to become less fierce. Nanisca discovers there is strength in motherhood. There is no weakness in caring and love.”

The Woman King covers more thematic terrain with storylines about colonialism and even a love story between Nawi and Portuguese trader Santo Ferreira (Hero Fiennes Tiffin).

Dana Stevens started writing her screenplay with an outline, but ultimately she “feels” her way through the first draft.

“First I introduce the world, the action, the characters and the fulfilment of the prophecy that someone will return from your past. Then we introduce the danger of the Oyo [male] warriors into the world.”

Then she puts it all up on a whiteboard and edits. “If I haven’t seen Nanisca in too long, I add another scene with her. Overall, this movie came very organically to me.” Stevens had a lot of story material to select from, so she was never short of content. The first cut of the film was nearly three hours long so they had cut around thirty minutes.

Stevens also realizes the importance of audience needing time to process and reset during a movie – especially after an intense battle scene. “You need quiet moments to check in with them emotionally.” She cites a scene where Nawi is crying quietly in the palace. No dialogue needed. The creative team spent considerable time working on that balance.

The writer describes the tone of The Woman King film as “epic and sweeping as you’re entering another world. It also needed some levity and moments of humor. The dancing scenes captured this lighter tone. We also had moments of silence and reverence which focussed on visual grandeur.”

“There are times much of my writing is in subtext, but there are times when characters much shed it and shed their truth,” Stevens said. She quotes Nanisca’s dialogue, “I know what it is in the dream I was so frightened by.” It represented a moment of big change for her.

Dana Stevens began her creative career as an actor. “I understand what kind of words actors want to hear which get them to where they need to be. Sometimes they need words and other times they don’t.” She enjoys watching this in action during table reads.

The Woman King is especially timely in today’s socio-political environment. “They’re fed up with having their rights taken away and want to change the political discourse. That’s why this movie hits a nerve especially for black women. I’m honored that I was invited to collaborate with them.“