There is a reason that "The Woman King" has already drawn comparisons, even from its creators, to "Black Panther." One of the standout aspects of the Marvel blockbuster was the Dora Milaje, the all-female, elite commando unit that protects Wakanda and its leaders. Those warrior women were based on real historical counterparts — the Dahomey Agojie. In order to portray the so-called "Dahomey Amazons," Viola Davis and her co-stars, Davis herself told People through a chuckle, "went through hell."

Davis and her co-stars Lashana Lynch, Thuso Mbedu, and Sheila Atim, and even director Gina Prince-Bythewood, went through arduous training to emulate the Agojie's almost inhuman physical conditioning. Davis summarized a typical day's workout: "Three hours of martial arts a day ... and hour and a half of weights, [and] sprinting." The training included all sorts of weapons training too, including swordplay with machetes and spear combat. The stars all said the gym regime and weapons training, as intense as it was, bonded them together, just like the cohesive warrior women team in the film.

Hollywood trainer and nutritionist Gabriela Mclain also tailored each of the cast members' workouts to achieve the absolute maximum results. As she told People, "I actually did DNA testing on ... Viola, Thuso, Lashana, Sheila, and Adrienne ... which helped me pretty much figure out the best way to train." She added, "I wanted them to gain muscle. So they were eating five meals a day, every three hours ... and each of them had a different nutritional plan, which I designed."