Come take a first look at the trailer and artwork from next year's hotly anticipated biopic Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom , out today.

The film, starring Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela and Naomie Harris as his former wife, Winnie Mandela, spans the extraordinary life story of the South African politician and activist.

Directed by Bafta winner Justin Chadwick, it follows Mandela's journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected President of South Africa.

South African producer Anant Singh spent 16 years developing the film, in what promises to be an epic and detailed portrait of the making of a modern icon.

Oscar-nominated William Nicholson, the man behind Gladiator and Les Miserables, wrote the screenplay. The film was created with the full support Mandela himself, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory.

Watch the trailer and see the posters, below, and let us know your thoughts on Twitter.

First look: Mandela trailer