Viola Davis's performance in The Woman King shows the untapped potential of her role as Amanda Waller in the DCEU. Amanda Waller is set to return in Black Adam, with Viola Davis first having debuted as Waller in 2016's Suicide Squad. Davis later reprised the role in the 2021 follow-up The Suicide Squad and then appeared in the spin-off TV series Peacemaker ahead of Black Adam, and while her portrayal of DC's frenemy to the superhero community has been well-received, The Woman King shows she could bring even more.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
In The Woman King, Davis plays Nanisca, general of the all-female warriors known as the Agojie who defend the Dahomey nation. Set in 1823, The Woman King has been very well-received for its historical scope, cast performances, and captivating action scenes, the latter of which show Davis as a particular stand-out. As general of the Dahomey, Nanisca is always front and center in battle as a very cunning warrior.
Davis is not generally known for action-oriented roles, but she very clearly put in tremendous work into getting prepared to fight and lead the cast of The Woman King as Nanisca and wield her sword in battle. The praise Davis has earned for her portrayal of Nanisca in The Woman King highlights that her Amanda Waller appearances in the DCEU could add the same hands-on energy to Waller. Though Amanda Waller typically is one to manipulate her enemies from behind the scenes, there are a few ways the physicality Davis shows as Nanisca could similarly translate to Waller.
How DCEU Can Improve Davis' Waller
In her present tense stories, Amanda Waller is a U.S. government agent running Argus and keeping tabs on the metahuman community, but she would not have started there. The DCEU showing Waller as having a significant military background would fit well into her climb up the government ladder. As seen in her manipulations of the Suicide Squad, especially in her f-bomb-filled threats to the defiant assassin Bloodsport (Idris Elba) in The Suicide Squad, Davis's Waller could easily have been a commanding officer or perhaps even a drill sergeant.
Showing some of Waller's military past through flashback stories could allow Viola Davis to channel some of the same physical training and combat skills she uses as Nanisca in The Woman King. This could also play into her current role with Argus and her innate skill at Machiavellian manipulation. Waller as a commander removed from the heart of battle could easily lull unsuspecting heroes and villains into underestimating her as a physical threat, giving her the perfect opportunity to pull another surprise should someone like Peacemaker, Bloodsport, or Harley Quinn try to really challenge her, either in the Amanda Waller spin-off series or another DCEU movie.
Amanda Waller's DCEU role has been true to her comic book origins as a master string-puller who can be both ally and enemy of superheroes depending on how much their goals align. Still, Davis's performance in The Woman King showed her capabilities in an action role that her future portrayals of Waller in the DCEU should absolutely utilize. Doing so would somewhat break the rules of Waller's usual modus operandi, but if Amanda Waller herself is living proof of anything, it is that rules are made to be broken.