Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman has signed to play Nelson Mandela in the upcoming partial biopic “The Human Factor,” a film focusing on the 1995 Rugby World Cup hosted by South Africa and its historical impact on apartheid.

Morgan Freeman has signed to play Morgan Freeman in “The Human Factor,” a big screen adaptation of John Carlin’s book “The Human Factor: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Changed the World,” reports Variety.

The awe-inspiring names linked to this project do not end here, as Clint Eastwood is reportedly considering directing the movie for Warner Bros, which is also in talks to finance the project. Matt Damon has also shown interest in playing one of the major roles.

According to Variety, the film will focus on the time following immediately after the fall of apartheid, after Nelson Mandela was released form his long imprisonment and became South Africa’s first post-apartheid president.

It was in 1995 that the struggling country was selected as host of the 1995 Rugby World Cup after the team had been barred from even competing since the 1980s because of apartheid, says Variety.

Matt Damon is in talks to play the captain of the Springboks.

An adaptation of John Carlin’s book has already been completed by screenwriter Anthony Peckham, while Freeman and Revelations partner Lori McCreary are producing with Mace Neufeld.

Eastwood and Freeman have collaborated before, and very successfully, one may add, on 1991’s western “Unforgiven” and the 2004 boxing drama “Million Dollar Baby.” Both movies received the Academy Award for best picture.

Freeman received an Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in “Million Dollar Abby.” Eastwood received an Academy Award for best director for each movie.

Eastwood next directs Angelina Jolie in “The Changeling.”

Freeman next appears on the big screen in Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, “Gone Baby Gone,” set for an October release, as well as in “The Feast of Love,” a romantic comedy by Robert Benton.

He also stars with Jack Nicholson in the upcoming Rob Reiner-directed film “The Bucket List.”