Cynthia Erivo Joins Snoop Dogg Biopic as Afeni Shakur, With an August 6, 2027 Release Set

Cynthia Erivo has been cast as Afeni Shakur, the mother of Tupac Shakur, in the Snoop Dogg biopic from Universal Pictures. The casting, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, adds one of the film’s most significant supporting roles to an already crowded ensemble.

Who Was Afeni Shakur?

Afeni Shakur was a former Black Panther and political activist, and she is more than a footnote in the story of West Coast hip-hop. Her son made her the subject of several songs, including the 1995 single “Dear Mama”. After his death in 1996, she set up the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, which supports young people interested in the arts, and oversaw his estate. She also founded the label Amaru Entertainment to release his previously unheard music. She died in 2016 at the age of 69.

The Cast Around Erivo

Erivo joins a long list of names. Jonathan Daviss, known for Outer Banks, plays Snoop Dogg, while Camron Jones takes on Tupac. Myles Bullock plays Dr. Dre, Lauren London plays Snoop’s late mother, Beverly Tate, and Laya DeLeon Hayes plays his wife, Shante Broadus. Tre Hale is Suge Knight, Algee Smith is Warren G, Olly Sholotan is Kurupt, Corey Champagne is Nate Dogg and Jonica Booth is The Lady of Rage. According to Rolling Stone, the musician SwayvoTwain will play Notorious B.I.G.

The casting is notable because Tupac’s relationship with Snoop is part of the story. Reports say the two met around the 1993 film Poetic Justice and later worked together, including on “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted”. They drifted apart amid the East Coast/West Coast rivalry, but remained friends, and Snoop visited Tupac in hospital in his final days. Afeni sits close to that history.

Production and Release Details

Craig Brewer directs from a script by Joe Robert Cole, co-writer of both Black Panther films. Snoop Dogg is a producer alongside Brian Grazer, the producer behind Eminem’s 8 Mile, with Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker and Imagine’s Allan Mandelbaum also credited. The film will draw on music from across Snoop’s career. Filming began in September 2026 in California, and the release is set for August 6, 2027. The project was first announced in 2022 and billed by its makers as the “definitive” film about the rapper and entertainment mogul.

Snoop himself has promised the film will be rated R. Erivo had not publicly commented on the casting at the time of the reports.

What Else Is on Erivo’s Slate

Erivo is busy. She also executive-produces Prima Facie, the screen version of the acclaimed one-woman play. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and reaches UK and Irish cinemas on November 13. She stars in the action-thriller Karōshi too, due February 5. Last month she told The Hollywood Reporter she has an “internal metronome” for choosing roles and says no to a lot of projects, which suggests the Afeni part appealed for a reason.

With production under way and nine months or so until release, the Snoop Dogg biopic now has a cast that spans the main figures of West Coast rap in the 1990s, plus an Oscar-nominated actor in a key role.

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File photo: Cynthia Erivo – Wicked-FYC-1.jpg by Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.