Snoop Dogg speaking on stage wearing a colorful patterned outfit.
Universal Pictures has officially circled August 2027 on the calendar for Snoop, the definitive biographical film detailing the life and career of the gangsta rap icon. The studio confirmed the release date on Tuesday, July 21.
Snoop Dogg speaking on stage wearing a colorful patterned outfit.
The highly anticipated project stars Jonathan Daviss, best known for his work on the Netflix series Outer Banks, taking on the monumental title role.
A Historic Studio Partnership
Snoop marks the inaugural project stemming from Death Row Pictures’ overall deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios. Director Craig Brewer is helming the picture, utilizing his own rewrite of an original script penned by Joe Robert Cole.
Production heavyweights include Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Snoop Dogg himself, and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker. The film will draw heavily on music from the rapper’s extensive catalog.
Mike Knobloch, NBCUniversal’s president of music and publishing, will supervise the soundtrack. Universal SVP of production development Ryan Jones is overseeing the project on the studio side.
“Now It’s My Turn”
The groundwork for the film was laid out publicly at CinemaCon in April, where Snoop Dogg shared the stage with Daviss to preview the production.
“After my brothers got to tell their story with Straight Outta Compton, now it’s my turn,” Snoop told the industry crowd.
He also praised his director, noting Brewer’s track record in music-driven cinema. “My director, Craig Brewer, he just showed us how hard it is out here for a pimp from Hustle & Flow,” Snoop said.
He added that Brewer recently “got us all singing Sweet Caroline,” referencing the director’s upcoming Neil Diamond film Song Sung Blue.
The biopic was initially announced in 2022, shortly after Snoop acquired Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group. At the time, Snoop emphasized his patience in finding the exact right collaborators.
“It was the perfect marriage,” Snoop said. “It was holy matrimony, not holy macaroni.”
Universal’s Winning Streak
NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios chairman Donna Langley called Snoop an undeniably influential cultural icon. “We met with Snoop shortly after he acquired Death Row Records and had the opportunity to hear his story in his own words,” Langley said.
“We are humbled to be able to create the lasting document of this singular artist.”
Universal Pictures is already a dominant force in the hip-hop cinematic space. The studio distributed the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton, which pulled in $201.6 million globally in 2015. They also released the 2002 Eminem drama 8 Mile, another project produced by Grazer and Imagine Entertainment.
For years, Straight Outta Compton held the record for the largest music-biopic opening weekend. That changed when the Michael Jackson biopic Michael debuted to $217 million globally this year.
Michael, which opened in April with Universal Pictures International handling most overseas markets, shattered historical box office ceilings. It has since grossed over USD $1 billion worldwide.
That unprecedented haul pushed Michael past Oppenheimer ($975.8 million) and the 2018 music blockbuster Bohemian Rhapsody ($910.8 million) to become the highest-grossing biopic on any subject in film history.
Decades of Hip-Hop Dominance
Snoop Dogg’s career provides decades of dramatic material for Brewer to explore. To date, he is a 17-time Grammy nominee who has sold over 35 million albums globally.
His breakout came in 1992, featuring heavily on Dr. Dre’s seminal single Deep Cover and the landmark album The Chronic.
He followed that up a year later with his own historic solo debut, Doggystyle, released via Death Row Records in 1993.
