So Gina Prince Bythewood‘s The Woman King (Sony, 9.16) is a female Black Panther except fact-based (no super powers) and righteously anti-imperialist.
Viola Davis plays General Nanisca of the Dahomey Amazons, an all-female warrior unit in the Kingdom of Dahomey. Thuso Mbedu plays Nani, an ambitious recruit.
The film depicts how they “fought enemies who violated their honor, enslaved their people, and threatened to destroy everything they have lived for.”
“The Story of The Fearless Women“: “From the 18th century to late 19th century, there existed a formidable army of all-female warriors in Dahomey in the present-day Republic of Benin.
“They were called the Mino (our Mothers) or Ahosi (king’s wives) while European observers called them the Dahomey Amazons due to their similarity with the Amazons of the Greek mythology.”
The Dora Milaje in Black Panther (women who serve as special forces for the fictional African nation of Wakanda) was loosely on the Dahomey Amazons.