Idris Elba can currently be found canceling the apocalypse in Guillermo del Toro’s rock ’em, sock ’em actioner “Pacific Rim,” but come November 29, he’ll star in a much different film, the Nelson Mandela biopic
The first trailer for the film, directed by Justin Chadwick, has hit the web (via Yahoo!), chronicling the 95-year-old’s journey from anti-apartheid revolutionary to prisoner to South African president.
“He was public enemy #1. Hunted by the police. Feared by the government. Revolutionary. Outlaw. Rebel. Fighter. Radical. Liberator,” the trailer declares in big, bold type, intercut with shots of rifle-wielding agents and fiery explosions. We witness Mandela meeting his second wife, social worker Winnie Madikizela (Naomie Harris), leading protest rallies and being tried and ultimately convicted for his supposed crimes, for which he spent 27 years in prison before being released and elected the president of South Africa a few years later.
The trailer concludes with rousing words from the icon: “Freedom, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
This first, full-length look is in stark contrast to the U.K. teaser released last week, which takes a much quieter approach to Mandela’s story, showing him walking through a South African field with a stirring voice-over from Elba.
Addressing Mandela’s recent health concerns, Elba told MTV News, “My heart and prayers are with his family at the moment.”
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” based on the icon’s 1994 autobiography, opens November 29.
No Comments