Snoop Dogg’s Universal Biopic Just Found Its Tupac Shakur, and the Casting Choice Makes Total Sense
Snoop Dogg’s rise from Long Beach to hip-hop icon has always been intertwined with one of music’s most consequential friendships, and now Universal’s upcoming biopic is finally filling in that piece of the story. As casting continues to take shape for the untitled project, the studio has been steadily building out a cast capable of capturing one of the most storied eras in rap history.
Jonathan Daviss, known for his role on “Outer Banks,” was previously announced as the film’s Snoop Dogg, with Myles Bullock also joining as Dr. Dre, the producer who discovered Snoop and helped launch his career. The film is being directed by Craig Brewer, whose credits include ‘Hustle & Flow’ and ‘Dolemite Is My Name,’ and is being produced in part by Brian Grazer, the veteran producer behind ‘8 Mile.’
Now the project has its Tupac Shakur. Camron Jones, best known for his work on ‘P-Valley’ and ‘Panic,’ has been cast to portray the influential rapper, a casting decision The Hollywood Reporter was first to confirm. The film, titled ‘Snoop,’ is being described as the definitive biopic of the entertainment mogul and icon, and is set for release on August 6, 2027.
Jones steps into a role carrying enormous weight given how central Shakur was to Snoop’s early career and the broader Death Row Records story. The two were labelmates and close collaborators, delivering tracks like “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” together, before their relationship fractured amid the West Coast-East Coast rivalry that came to define the mid-1990s rap landscape. Shakur died in 1996, and his presence in the film promises to be one of its most emotionally charged threads.
Jones isn’t the only recent addition to the cast. Lauren London, known for ‘ATL’ and ‘Without Remorse,’ has also joined the project to play Snoop’s late mother, Beverly Tate, with Deadline first reporting her involvement. Tate, also known as Beverly Broadus-Green, is credited with giving her son the childhood nickname “Snoopy,” inspired by the “Peanuts” character, which later evolved into his stage name. She passed away in 2021 at age 70.
For Jones, the casting marks a significant career jump. In addition to ‘Panic,’ he has credits on shows including ‘grown-ish,’ ‘The Purge,’ and ‘Shameless,’ and is set to appear in the upcoming third season of Starz’s ‘P-Valley.’ Landing a role as culturally significant as Tupac Shakur in a high-profile studio biopic puts him in rare company among actors who’ve taken on the icon before.
The film’s screenplay was originally written by ‘Black Panther’ co-writer Joe Robert Cole, with Brewer later delivering the most recent draft. Snoop Dogg himself is producing alongside Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker, ensuring the story carries firsthand insight into the era it depicts. The soundtrack is expected to pull directly from Snoop’s extensive musical catalog, giving the film another layer of authenticity beyond the performances themselves.
With Daviss, Bullock, London, and now Jones rounding out a cast built to capture one of hip-hop’s defining chapters, ‘Snoop’ is shaping up to be one of the more anticipated music biopics on the horizon. Fans of the genre will have to wait until 2027 to see how it all comes together on screen.
Are you excited to see Camron Jones play Tupac in the Snoop Dogg biopic?
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