First look: Invictus poster

The movie was shot entirely on location in South Africa in the early part of 2009 and stars Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and a bleach-blonde Matt Damon as former Springbok captain Francois Pienaar. Invictus is set to be released in South Africa on 11 December, 2009.

* Watch the Invictus trailer here

Formerly entitled "The Human Factor", Invictus was adapted from the novel Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation by John Carlin and recounts the newly elected president's efforts to unite the nation by rallying behind the underdog Springbok team during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. And look at how that all turned out.

The movie has already been attracting Oscar buzz like bees to honey way before anyone has even had a whiff of a trailer, or even a single second of footage from the movie. And why not? God himself – Morgan Freeman – is playing Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. They might as well hand him the Oscar now.

So, what do you think of the poster? It's definitely striking. But what about Freeman and Damon? Do they look the part? Do you think these American stars can do our SA heroes justice on the big screen? And why didn't Eastwood give Leon Schuster a cameo?

We have so many questions!

Some of you have already voiced reservations about the casting of Damon, although he made full use of his time in South Africa, even completing the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour back in March.

Let us know your first impressions of the fresh-off-the-presses poster below. Have any cool stories about bumping into Eastwood at your local saloon at high noon? Or maybe you were one of the thousands of extras cast for the stadium scenes?

We so wanna hear from you...