Prince-Bythewood noted that the Agojie women had all of the qualities that so many people believe women are incapable of possessing, and it’s a well-documented fact. “They were the main fighting force of this kingdom, and they wanted to be there,” she said. “They wanted to be fighters.” These weren’t women bitten by radioactive spiders or forced into training as children to be legal assassins, they were warriors who wanted to be warriors. “There was a beauty in their power, in how they trained, and they were praised for it,” she continued.
Unfortunately, these sentiments have not extended to our current era. “You still see how people come down on Serena [Williams], who is absolutely the greatest of all time — what she’s had to go through as an athlete and female athlete,” she said. “The more we can put women up on-screen to show that we have an innate warrior, to celebrate their fitness, and their athleticism, and their skill, to show that we are capable.” To enforce Prince-Bythewood’s point even further, she also highlighted that the actors in “The Woman King” are performing their own action scenes.
“These are not stunt doubles doing that fighting. These actors, these women? Did that. Viola Davis did that. Thuso Mbedu did that. We can do that. These are not superheroes. These were real women, and the women up on-screen are real women.”
“The Woman King” is now playing in theaters everywhere.