She’s unveiling the history of a forgotten army!
Lupita Nyong’o’s ‘Warrior Women’ documentary is set to air on the Smithsonian Channel, Deadline reports.
Nyong’o starred in Marvel’s Black Panther as Nakia, a fierce warrior who worked alongside T’Challa, played by the late Chadwick Boseman, to build up the fictional city of Wakanda. Nakia is also a part of the Dora Milaje, a group of women warriors that are inspired by the real life “Agoji,” an all-women West African army whose story has nearly been forgotten. Now Nyong’o is starring in a new documentary entitled “Warrior Women” that tells that story.
The Agoji were a group of up to 4,000 women who fought African and European powers in the Kingdom of Dahomey from the 17th to the 19th centuries. In the documentary, Nyong’o takes viewers on a journey across Benin, West Africa to explore the story of the “Agoji,” once referred to by Europeans as the “Amazons.”
The documentary was initially commissioned by Channel 4 in the UK and is now set to air in the U.S. on the Smithsonian Channel. It will also air later this year on its network in Latin America as a part of the channel’s Women’s History Month programming.
SandStone Global Productions, which is known for docs like Egypt’s Greatest Treasures and The Nile: Egypt’s Great River, produced the documentary.
Warrior Women is set to air Monday, March 28, on the Smithsonian Channel.
Photo Courtesy of Channel 4/Deadline