Snoop Dogg Biopic ‘Snoop’ Gets August 2027 Release Date With Jonathan Daviss in Lead Role

Snoop Dogg’s life story officially has a date with the big screen.

Universal Pictures has scheduled Snoop, its authorized biographical film about the Long Beach rap legend, for theatrical release on August 6, 2027.

The newly announced date is the project’s most significant update since Outer Banks actor Jonathan Daviss was selected to portray Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus Jr. Director Craig Brewer, whose credits include Hustle & Flow and Dolemite Is My Name, is leading the production.

Universal placed Snoop in a date previously reserved for an unidentified event film, confirming that the studio intends to give the hip-hop story a full theatrical rollout. Deadline reported the August 2027 release announcement.

When will the Snoop Dogg biopic be released?

Snoop will open in theaters on Friday, August 6, 2027.

No trailer has been released, and Universal has not announced whether the film will receive an international rollout on the same date.

Beyond Jonathan Daviss, no additional cast members have been publicly confirmed as of July 22, 2026. That leaves several important roles—including Dr. Dre, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Suge Knight and members of Snoop’s family—yet to be announced.

Who is playing Snoop Dogg?

Jonathan Daviss will portray the rapper during the formative period of his life and career.

Daviss is best known for playing Pope Heyward on Netflix’s Outer Banks. His casting was announced in June 2025, making him the first actor publicly attached to the project.

Snoop expressed his approval when the casting was revealed, while the two later appeared together during Universal’s CinemaCon presentation in April 2026. At the event, it was announced that filming was expected to begin in Los Angeles during summer 2026. Variety confirmed Daviss and the film’s 2027 theatrical date.

The production previously received a California tax credit. Snoop said the state raised and inspired him and was now helping bring his Long Beach story to the screen. Reuters reported on the California-backed production.

Who is directing Snoop?

Craig Brewer is directing and revising the screenplay originally written by Joe Robert Cole.

Brewer has substantial experience telling stories driven by Black music and performance. His 2005 film Hustle & Flow followed a Memphis rapper attempting to change his life through music, while Dolemite Is My Name explored Rudy Ray Moore’s independent entertainment journey.

That film also featured Snoop Dogg, giving Brewer and the rapper an established creative relationship before work began on the biopic.

Cole’s credits include Black Panther and The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Brewer and Cole are both credited with shaping the screenplay.

Allen Hughes, whose recent music projects include The Defiant Ones and Dear Mama, was attached to direct an earlier version of the Snoop Dogg film before Brewer joined the production.

Snoop Dogg is helping control his own story

This will be an authorized account developed with Snoop directly involved as a producer.

He is producing alongside Imagine Entertainment co-founder Brian Grazer and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker. The project is also notable as the first film developed through Death Row Pictures’ overall partnership with NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios.

That involvement gives Snoop greater influence over how his life, music and transformation are represented. It also separates Snoop from unofficial films or documentaries created without direct access to their subject.

The movie is expected to incorporate music from across Snoop’s career, although an official soundtrack plan has not been announced.

What part of Snoop Dogg’s life will the movie cover?

Universal has described the project as a definitive biopic, but a full synopsis has not been released.

Snoop’s story gives the filmmakers several possible chapters to explore:

• His childhood and adolescence in Long Beach, California
• His early recordings with Warren G and Nate Dogg
• His introduction to Dr. Dre
• His breakthrough performances on “Deep Cover” and The Chronic
• The enormous success of his 1993 debut album, Doggystyle
• His murder trial and acquittal
• His complicated years with Death Row Records and Suge Knight
• His reinvention as an independent artist, actor and mainstream cultural figure
• His eventual acquisition of the Death Row Records brand

These events have not all been confirmed for the screenplay. Until Universal releases a synopsis or trailer, the exact time span remains unknown.

One of the film’s biggest creative challenges will be deciding whether to concentrate on the volatile Death Row era or attempt to cover Snoop’s complete transformation from a young Long Beach rapper into one of entertainment’s most recognizable personalities.

Snoop Dogg was previously portrayed in Straight Outta Compton

Snoop will not be the first major studio film to dramatize the rapper’s early career.

LaKeith Stanfield played a younger Snoop Dogg in Universal’s 2015 N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. That portrayal primarily presented Snoop through his connection to Dr. Dre and the emerging Death Row sound.

The new film will shift Snoop from supporting character to central subject, allowing his childhood, personal struggles and career decisions to receive greater attention.

Universal’s involvement also creates a direct connection between the two projects. Straight Outta Compton became a major theatrical success, grossing more than $200 million worldwide and demonstrating the commercial potential of large-scale hip-hop biographies.

Is there a trailer for the Snoop Dogg movie?

No public trailer or official first-look footage has been released.

Snoop and Jonathan Daviss promoted the film at CinemaCon in April, but the project was still preparing to enter production at that time. An official image of Daviss in character has also not been widely released.

The next likely updates are:

• Production photographs from the Los Angeles set
• Additional casting announcements
• Confirmation of the story’s time period
• A first-look image of Jonathan Daviss as Snoop
• An official teaser or trailer

Snoop’s story moves toward the big screen

The August 2027 date gives Universal and the filmmakers time to recreate one of the most influential periods in West Coast hip-hop history.

Snoop’s career cannot be reduced to his debut album or Death Row years. His story spans gangsta rap, murder allegations, record-label conflict, family, entrepreneurship, film, television and an unlikely evolution into a widely embraced cultural personality.

With Snoop directly involved, Jonathan Daviss taking the lead and Craig Brewer behind the camera, Snoop now has the foundation for one of the most closely watched hip-hop biopics since Straight Outta Compton.

The question will be whether the authorized movie is willing to examine both the danger surrounding Snoop’s rise and the decisions that allowed him to survive, adapt and ultimately take ownership of the Death Row name.