"I have known Nelson Mandela personally for quite some time, and am continually in awe of his enormous presence in the world," Freeman said for Variety. "The opportunity to portray him in this film is a great honour."

The action of the movies is set in 1995, when South Africa hosted the Rugby World Cup. Nelson Mandela who was in his first term as the president used the event as a way to end decades of mistrust and hatred between whites and blacks.

According to Variety, Freeman will be also the producer of the movie with his Revelations Entertainment partner Lori McCreary and Mace Neufeld. No other details about the movie were announced.

Born in June 1937 in Memphis, Tennesse, Morgan Freeman’s filmography includes over 80 movies from drama to comedy. The actor won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2004 for his role as Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris in “Million Dollar Baby” drama.

During this weekend, Morgan Freeman might be seen playing God in the comedy “Evan Almighty”, a sequel of “Bruce Almighty”.