The Snoop Dogg biopic cast has expanded considerably, with Variety reporting that Universal Pictures has announced a fresh wave of additions to the ensemble for the forthcoming film Snoop. Headlining the new arrivals is SwayvoTwain, whose real name is Michael D’Angelo Archer Jr. and who is the son of D’Angelo and Angie Stone. He will take on the role of Biggie Smalls.
SwayvoTwain is joined by G Perico, cast as Big Reecie Cup, and Bentley Green, previously known as a kid rapper on the Ellen Show, who has been cast as RBX. The three slot into a production that was already well along in its ensemble-building.
A full West Coast ensemble takes shape
The core of the Snoop Dogg biopic cast was assembled earlier, with Jonathan Daviss of Outer Banks leading the film as Snoop Doggy Dog himself. Around him, Myles Bullock steps in as Dr. Dre, Camron Jones as Tupac Shakur, Algee Smith as Warren G, Tre Hale as Suge Knight, and Laya DeLeon Hayes as Shante Broadus, Snoop Dogg’s wife of almost three decades. The picture is directed by Craig Brewer, whose previous credits include Hustle & Flow.
The script was handled by Joe Robert Cole, the Black Panther screenwriter, who wrote the original treatment. Production sits under Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker alongside Snoop Dogg himself as producer. Snoop will also be the first cinematic release to come out of Death Row Pictures’ overall deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios.
Universal’s long connection to West Coast rap on screen
Universal has been here before. The studio was behind Straight Outta Compton, the 2015 N.W.A. biopic in which Lakeith Stanfield played a younger Snoop. That film’s commercial success helped cement the business case for returning to this era of hip-hop history. Snoop covers ground that overlaps with some of the same period and characters, though now with Snoop Dogg’s own story centred and his own imprint involved in bringing it to screen.
The casting of SwayvoTwain as Biggie carries a certain weight given the lineage involved. His parents are figures whose own careers are inseparable from the 1990s music world the film inhabits, which gives the choice a cultural resonance beyond simple star-hunting. Biggie’s relationship with the West Coast scene is, of course, complicated history, and how the film navigates that will be one of the more closely watched creative decisions when Snoop eventually arrives.
The Snoop Dogg biopic cast is now substantial enough to suggest the production is well into its preparation phase, with a projected theatrical release date of 6 August 2027. That puts it roughly a year out at the time of the announcement, giving Brewer and his team considerable runway to finish the picture and build the campaign around it. Given the scale of the ensemble and the catalogue of music tied to Snoop Dogg’s career, marketing will have no shortage of material to work with.
Whether the film ultimately lands as a definitive account of Snoop’s rise through Death Row and beyond, or something more crowd-pleasing and episodic, the assembled Snoop Dogg biopic cast at least signals that Universal is treating it as a proper prestige release rather than a quick nostalgia play. August 2027 is the date to mark.
