Snoop Dogg biopic set for 2027 release, joining Black legends who lived to see their stories told

The Snoop Dogg biopic officially has a theatrical release date, giving one of hip hop’s most recognizable figures a chance to help define how his life, career, and cultural legacy will be remembered on the big screen. Universal Pictures will release “Snoop” nationwide on Friday, August 6, 2027.

Per Variety, the R-rated movie will star “Outer Banks” actor Jonathan Daviss as Snoop Dogg. The studio describes the project as the definitive biopic of the artist, business mogul, and gangsta rap icon. The film is currently scheduled to open against Disney’s “The Bluey Movie” and the Jason Statham comedy “Jason Statham Stole My Bike.”

The film will be directed by Craig Brewer, whose filmography includes “Hustle & Flow,” “Dolemite Is My Name,” “Coming 2 America,” and “Song Sung Blue.” Brewer is directing from his rewrite of an original screenplay by Joe Robert Cole, whose credits include “Black Panther” and “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”

Snoop will produce the movie alongside Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Death Row Pictures President Sara Ramaker. NBCUniversal says the production will be the first movie released through Death Row Pictures’ overall agreement with NBCUniversal Entertainment. The film will also have access to Snoop’s extensive music catalog, allowing the filmmakers to use the records that helped turn Calvin Broadus Jr. from a young Long Beach rapper into an international celebrity.

The project has been developing publicly since 2022. Allen Hughes was originally attached to direct the movie before Brewer eventually took over. When the biopic was first announced, Snoop explained that he had been careful about choosing the people who would handle his story.

“I waited a long time to put this project together because I wanted to choose the right director, the perfect writer, and the greatest movie company I could partner with that could understand the legacy that I’m trying to portray on screen, and the memory I’m trying to leave behind,” Snoop said. He added, “It was the perfect marriage. It was holy matrimony, not holy macaroni.”

Jonathan Daviss joined the Snoop Dogg biopic in June 2025. Daviss is best known for playing Pope Heyward on Netflix’s “Outer Banks.” The outlet also reported that Snoop celebrated the casting publicly after Universal revealed the actor selected to portray him. As of July 22, 2026, Universal has not publicly announced the remaining cast.

Production was expected to begin during the summer of 2026 after Snoop and Daviss promoted the movie together at CinemaCon. However, Variety reports that specific plot details remain under wraps. It is not yet clear whether “Snoop” will cover several decades of his life or concentrate on one transformative period, such as his introduction through Dr. Dre, the creation of “Doggystyle,” his complicated history with Death Row Records, or his evolution into a mainstream television and business personality.

Universal executive Donna Langley emphasized the importance of hearing Snoop’s version of his journey when the project was announced. “Snoop Dogg’s life and legacy make him one of the most exciting and influential icons in popular culture,” Langley said. “We met with Snoop shortly after he acquired Death Row Records and had the opportunity to hear his story in his own words. We are humbled to be able to create the lasting document of this singular artist.”

That ability to participate in the telling of his own story places Snoop among a smaller group of Black entertainers, athletes, and cultural figures whose lives received major Hollywood treatment while they were still here to see it. It also gives him something many Black icons never received: an opportunity to challenge inaccuracies, protect important context, and influence which parts of his story become part of the public record.

Tina Turner was alive and actively performing when “What’s Love Got to Do with It” reached theaters in 1993. The film introduced Turner’s story to a new generation, while Angela Bassett’s performance earned widespread acclaim. Turner later disagreed with some of the movie’s dramatic changes, showing why participation does not always guarantee that a living subject will approve of the finished product.

Muhammad Ali also saw a major studio interpret his life during his lifetime. Michael Mann’s “Ali” opened in 2001 when the boxing legend was 59-years-old. The film explored Ali’s victories, religious convictions, relationships, and the public pressures surrounding his rise. Will Smith received an Academy Award nomination for portraying him.

Chris Gardner’s experience inspired another major Black life story while its subject was alive. The 2006 film “The Pursuit of Happyness” was inspired by Gardner’s struggle to create a stable future for himself and his son. Gardner participated in the project and appeared briefly in the finished movie, while Will Smith played the entrepreneur on screen.

Hip-hop offered Snoop an even closer blueprint through “Straight Outta Compton.” Ice Cube and Dr. Dre helped produce the 2015 N.W.A. biopic while watching younger actors recreate their rise, conflicts, and influence. Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., played his father, while Corey Hawkins portrayed Dr. Dre. Lakeith Stanfield also appeared as a younger Snoop Dogg.

Venus and Serena Williams later helped shape their family’s story through “King Richard.” Both sisters served as executive producers on the 2021 drama about their father, Richard Williams, and the family plan that supported their tennis careers. Their involvement gave the Williams family a formal voice in a studio production centered on their private history.

The Snoop Dogg biopic now extends that tradition of living Black icons participating in the preservation of their own legacies. Snoop is not simply licensing his name and music to a studio. He is producing the film through the company connected to a record label that once controlled a defining portion of his career and that he later acquired for himself. That history could make “Snoop” more than a familiar rise to fame movie. It could become a story about ownership, reinvention, survival, and a Black artist gaining the power to frame his journey on his own terms.