Universal Pictures will release its Snoop Dogg biopic, Snoop, in theaters on August 6, 2027.
The studio confirmed the date on Tuesday (July 21), describing the film as the “definitive biopic of the artist, mogul and icon of gangsta rap.”
Snoop will be the first film to emerge from Death Row Pictures‘ overall deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios.
The film will be directed by Craig Brewer, working from his own rewrite of an original screenplay by Joe Robert Cole.
Jonathan Daviss, known for the Netflix series Outer Banks, will play Snoop Dogg in the title role.
Producers include Imagine Entertainment‘s Brian Grazer, Snoop Dogg and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker, and the film will draw on music from Snoop’s catalog.
Mike Knobloch, NBCUniversal’s president of music and publishing, supervises the film’s music, and Universal SVP of production development Ryan Jones oversees the project for the studio.
Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic, opened in April, with Universal Pictures International handling most overseas markets.
It has since grossed more than USD $1 billion worldwide to become the first biopic of any kind to reach that figure, as MBW reported.
That total moved Michael past Oppenheimer‘s $975.8 million to rank as the highest-grossing biopic on any subject.
It had already overtaken 2018‘s Bohemian Rhapsody, on $910.8 million, as the biggest music biopic.
Universal has a record in the genre of its own.
Its N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton grossed $201.6 million worldwide in 2015.
That film held the record for the largest music-biopic opening weekend until Michael debuted to $217 million globally this year.
Universal also released the Eminem drama 8 Mile in 2002, produced by Grazer and Imagine Entertainment.
Snoop set out the film’s progress at CinemaCon in April, appearing on stage with Daviss.
“After my brothers got to tell their story with Straight Outta Compton, now it’s my turn,” Snoop told the audience.
“My director, Craig Brewer, he just showed us how hard it is out here for a pimp from Hustle & Flow.”
“And then last year, he got us all singing Sweet Caroline,” Snoop added.
The line referenced Brewer‘s Neil Diamond film Song Sung Blue.
The Snoop project was first announced in 2022, shortly after the rapper acquired Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group.
“Snoop Dogg’s life and legacy make him one of the most exciting and influential icons in popular culture,” said Donna Langley, now chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios, when the film was announced.
“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.”
Snoop said in a statement at the time that he had held out for the right team.
“It was the perfect marriage,” Snoop said. “It was holy matrimony, not holy macaroni.”
According to Universal, Snoop Dogg has sold more than 35 million albums worldwide and is a 17-time Grammy nominee.
He first appeared in 1992 on Dr. Dre‘s single Deep Cover and the album The Chronic, before releasing his debut, Doggystyle, on Death Row Records in 1993.Music Business Worldwide
