Idris Elba Wants to Show You Nelson Mandela's Kick-Ass Side
Idris Elba may be fresh off "canceling the apocalypse" in Pacific Rim, but in a new trailer he plays a different type of hero for a film that has prestige written all over it. Here's the full trailer for Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which stars Elba as the South African revolutionary.
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The trailer was released in conjunction with celebrations of Mandela's 95th birthday yesterday. It's also an especially pertinent movie, especially given the fact that Nelson Mandela's health has been in the news recently, but Harvey Weinstein is also not selling this as a familiar portrayal of of the revered South African leader. Though you might be forgiven for wondering if this Mandela is going to look something like 2009's Invictus, given the voiceover-y teaser released recently, what we see in the new look is a young and handsome hero, who flirts with Winnie (played by Naomie Harris) and discusses explosives. This is— in the words of Weinstein himself via Vulture's Kyle Buchanan— "the kick-ass Mandela." The trailer is scored to K'naan's "Wavin' Flag," a song probably best associated with the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
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As we have mentioned, this upcoming Oscar season will be a particularly important one for diversity especially in the best actor category, where Elba will most certainly be a contender.
