Universal Pictures has locked in a 2027 theatrical release for a Snoop Dogg biopic, the studio announced Tuesday at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, setting the stage for one of Hip-Hop’s most anticipated film projects.
The name will be called “Snoop,” AllHipHop has learned exclusively.
Snoop was present to break the news at CinemaCon to the glee of the audience. Interestingly enough, the announcement was made with DJ Green Lantern on stage amid the Universal Presentation on Day 3 of Cinemacon.
Jonathan Daviss, best known for his role in Netflix’s Outer Banks, will star as Snoop Dogg. Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Dolemite Is My Name) will direct from a screenplay he is co-writing with Joe Robert Cole, a screenwriter whose credits include Black Panther.
Veteran producer Brian Grazer is attached to do what he does best – produce.
The film will trace Snoop Dogg’s rise from Long Beach to worldwide superstardom, covering his emergence alongside Dr. Dre in the early 1990s through his decades-long evolution into one of the most recognizable figures in music, television and business.
The project carries significance beyond its marquee subject. It is the first film developed under Snoop’s Death Row Pictures partnership with NBCUniversal, a broader content deal aimed at expanding Hip-Hop storytelling across film and television.
With Snoop serving as a producer, the biopic is positioned as a more personal and authoritatively sourced account than the secondary portrayals of him seen in Straight Outta Compton (2015) and All Eyez on Me (2017). Those films captured portions of his early career during the Death Row Records era but never centered his full story. This production intends to close that gap.
The production has also secured rights to Snoop’s life story and music catalog — a logistical achievement that has hampered previous music biopics and one that could anchor an authentic period soundtrack spanning more than three decades of recorded work.
The pairing of Brewer and Cole signals a deliberate effort to balance cultural authenticity with commercial reach.
Brewer’s filmography is rooted in music-driven narratives. His 2005 drama Hustle & Flow, which won the Sundance Audience Award and an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and his 2019 Eddie Murphy vehicle Dolemite Is My Name demonstrated a consistent ability to render Black musical culture with texture and specificity.
Cole, meanwhile, proved on Black Panther that he could handle stories of scale, identity and cultural weight within a studio framework — precisely the balance a Snoop Dogg biopic will require.
Daviss Steps Into a Career-Defining Role
Casting Daviss, 24, represents a significant bet on a young actor whose profile has grown steadily but who has not yet carried a major theatrical release. The role demands a performer capable of embodying Snoop’s signature laid-back charisma across multiple decades, from his debut on Dre’s The Chronic in 1992 through his reinventions as a television personality, entrepreneur and cultural institution.
Daviss has not publicly commented on the casting.
Industry Context: Hip-Hop Biopics Find Their Footing
The announcement arrives as Hollywood continues to recognize the genre’s commercial and cultural power. Straight Outta Compton grossed more than $200 million worldwide on a $29 million budget. More recently, biopics centered on figures from Hip-Hop and R&B have drawn consistent streaming and theatrical audiences.
Universal’s decision to back this project with a wide release and major CinemaCon announcement underscores studio-level confidence that Snoop’s story — spanning gang culture, legal jeopardy, generational musical influence and mainstream crossover — can draw audiences across age groups.
Specific plot details and supporting cast members have not been announced. Production is expected to begin soon to make the 2027 target release date.