The first trailer of The Woman King-an upcoming American historical drama has everyone talking, especially because of the fact that it is based on a real-life tribe. The Woman King is a movie based on a true story of the Dahomey Amazons; one of the most powerful all female military regiment in African History. It stars Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, John Boyega and many more. Well in as much as it is based on a true story, some characters aren’t exactly true; John Boyega’s King Ghezo is based on a real life king, but it is thought that Viola Davis and Thuso Mbedu’s characters, Nanisca and Nawi, are fictional.

Premiering in September, the movie is Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Prince-Bythewood, Dana Stevens, and Maria Bello. But while The Dahomey tribe is led by Oscar winner Viola Davis, we are drawn towards the significance of this story line and we take an in-depth look at the all-female military regiment. Speaking to Vanity Fair, director Gina Prince-Bythewood explained that very few photos exist of the Dahomey warriors:

“Our production designer, Akin McKenzie-the incredible dude-started combing through and excising anything from the colonizer’s point of view. He knew which photos were fake and created for the World Fair. There are so few actual photos of these women. Most of them are recreated.”

Who Were the Dahomey Amazons?

Named after the race of women warriors from Greek mythology, The Dahomey Amazons were an all-female military regiment in the Kingdom of Dahomey, now present day Benin. Reportedly assembled in the mid-to-late 1600s, the Amazons were known for their indifference to pain and fierceness in battle, as well as having great socio-political influence over their kingdom. By the mid-1800s, they numbered between 1000 to 6000 women.

When the French invaded Dahomey in 1892, the Amazons put up an aggressive resistance. Afterward, the French Soldiers noted their “incredible courage and audacity” in combat, as cited by the African American Registry, an online consortium of Black history educators. Fierce battling between the Amazons and Europeans continued, but the African female warriors were eventually outnumbered and outgunned and, they were largely wiped out.

While the Amazons were certainly powerful fighters, Leonard Wantchekon, a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, argues that it is important to look beyond the shock value of female warrior status when considering the Amazons legacy n history.

There you have it, the woman king was shot in November 2021 in South Africa and it will be out in the United States on September 16, and in UK and Irish cinemas on October 4. As you wait to watch it, think of it as a tale of a remarkable true story of a fierce, all female unit-who protected the west African kingdom of Dahomey.