After celebrating his 95th birthday yesterday, the legendary world activist Nelson Mandela is about to become the subject of another big-screen biopic which focuses on his rise into politics.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which stars British actor Idris Elba (The Wire, Prometheus) in the role of the iconic leader, has premiered its official trailer.

Directed by Justin Chadwick (Bleak House, The Other Boleyn Girl), the film charts Mandela’s journey from peaceful protests to hard-edged protests as he battled to free his people in native South Africa. However after being arrested, he was to be incarcerated for many years until his release in the early 90s.

Naomie Harris (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Skyfall) co-stars as Mandela’s wife Winnie with the film’s script being penned by William Nicholson (Les Miserables).

The film is set for release in the UK on January 3rd 2014.

Elba has been a busy man lately with his monster blockbuster Pacific Rim currently out in cinemas while he is also back on our TV screens in his Golden Globe-winning role as detective John Luther in the popular BBC series Luther.