Cynthia Erivo has joined the cast of the upcoming Snoop Dogg biopic Snoop, where she will play Afeni Shakur, the mother of Tupac Shakur. According to IGN, the film started shooting in September 2026, with Jonathan Daviss playing a young Snoop Dogg. Erivo is best known to most audiences as Elphaba in the film adaptation of Wicked, so the part marks a sharp change of register.
The casting fills in another corner of the story’s early-’90s West Coast world. Tupac and Snoop Dogg reportedly first met on the set of the 1993 film Poetic Justice, and later worked together on tracks for Tupac’s All Eyez on Me album. That friendship is why Tupac’s family is likely to feature, and Afeni was far more than a supporting figure in her son’s life. We’ve already covered another piece of the ensemble, with SwayvoTwain cast as Biggie, so the film is clearly building out its hip-hop lineup around Snoop’s own rise.
Afeni Shakur’s history gives Erivo a lot to work with. She was a member of the Black Panther Party and an activist before she became known as Tupac’s mother. After her son’s death in 1996, she created the Georgia-based Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation for young people interested in the arts. She also founded the record label Amaru Entertainment to release Tupac’s previously unreleased music, which means she shaped his posthumous catalogue as well as his legacy.
Snoop is scheduled for release on 6 August 2027. No UAE or wider GCC release date has been announced, so regional cinema listings will likely appear closer to the date.
Who is Cynthia Erivo playing in the Snoop Dogg biopic?
She plays Afeni Shakur, Tupac Shakur’s mother, who was a Black Panther Party member and activist and later ran the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation and Amaru Entertainment.
When does the Snoop Dogg biopic come out?
The film is scheduled for release on 6 August 2027. Filming started in September 2026, and no UAE date has been confirmed yet.
Who plays the young Snoop Dogg?
Jonathan Daviss plays a young Snoop Dogg in Snoop.
