Hollywood’s casting desk had a busy Wednesday. The headline: Cynthia Erivo has joined Universal’s upcoming biopic of Snoop Dogg and is set to portray Tupac Shakur’s mother, Afeni Shakur. Here is what Variety and Deadline reported on November 4.

Erivo joins “Snoop”

Variety reported that the Tony, Grammy and Emmy winner has joined “Snoop,” which is described as the “definitive biopic of the entertainment mogul and icon.” Jonathan Daviss leads the cast. Variety noted that the news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Afeni Shakur was a prominent member of the Black Panther Party. Variety’s profile notes that she was born Alice Faye Williams in North Carolina in 1947, moved to the Bronx as an 11-year-old, and joined the Panthers after hearing Bobby Seale speak in 1968.

The rest of the ensemble

Erivo joins a large cast that, per Variety, also features:

  • Myles Bullock Be as Dr. Dre
  • Lauren London as Snoop’s late mother, Beverly Tate
  • Camron Jones as Tupac Shakur
  • Algee Smith as Warren G
  • Tre Hale as Suge Knight
  • Laya DeLeon Hayes as Snoop’s wife, Shante Broadus
  • Olly Sholotan as Kurupt
  • Corey Champagne as Nate Dogg
  • Jonica Booth as The Lady of Rage

Craig Brewer (“Hustle and Flow,” “Song Sung Blue”) is directing, working from his rewrite of Joe Robert Cole’s original script. Snoop Dogg is producing alongside Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Allan Mandelbaum and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker. The film incorporates music from Snoop’s catalog and is the first project under Death Row Pictures’ overall deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios. Universal has dated it for theatrical release on August 6.

What Erivo has coming

Variety noted Erivo recently hosted “Saturday Night Live: U.K.” and starred in “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good,” earning Golden Globe, SAG, Critics’ Choice, NAACP, BAFTA and Academy Award nominations for playing Elphaba. Next up, she executive produced and stars in the film adaptation of “Prima Facie,” which premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and she stars in “Children of Blood and Bone,” directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, which opens on January 15.

More casting news from the market

The American Film Market is also generating headlines. Deadline reported exclusively that Gillian Anderson and Rebecca Hall will star in the psychological thriller “The Portrait,” from writer-director Sara Colangelo. Based on a novel by Ilaria Bernardini, it follows a writer, Valeria (Anderson), who commissions her secret lover’s artist wife, Isla (Hall), to paint her portrait so she can be near him during his final days, setting up a collision inside a grand London townhouse.

Separately, Deadline also reported that Daisy Ridley, Sosie Bacon and Simon Rex are set for the horror film “Get Rid of It” from director Ry Russo-Young. In it, sisters on a cross-country road trip discover that the thing growing inside one of them after a one-night stand “may not be human.” Filming is expected to begin at the start of 2027, and sales will be presented to buyers at the fall market.

Why it matters

Biopics live or die on casting, and “Snoop” is stacking its roster with recognizable names across several roles. Erivo, an Oscar nominee for “Wicked,” is taking on the role of a real-life figure at the center of Tupac Shakur’s story. Whether the film lands will depend on the script, the music and Brewer’s direction, but the ensemble is already getting attention.

What to watch next

  • Further casting announcements for “Snoop” ahead of its August 6 release date.
  • Distribution news for “The Portrait” and “Get Rid of It” as buyers meet at the market.
  • Any release-date updates for Erivo’s other upcoming projects.

Image: Blue condenser microphone (Unsplash) by Kelly Sikkema kelsikkema via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0