Two of the men who helped shape Snoop Dogg’s earliest years in Rap have found their on-screen counterparts. Universal’s upcoming biopic Snoop has cast Algee Smith as Warren G and Tre Hale as Suge Knight, filling out more of the Long Beach and Death Row history surrounding Jonathan Daviss, who stars in the title role. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Smith’s casting Wednesday, followed hours later by news that Hale will portray Knight.
Warren G’s inclusion reaches back before Snoop became a Death Row star. He formed 213 with Snoop and Nate Dogg in Long Beach, then helped connect Snoop with his stepbrother Dr. Dre. That relationship eventually put Snoop on Dre’s “Deep Cover” and The Chronic before his own debut, Doggystyle, arrived in 1993. Smith already has some experience playing musicians on screen after portraying Ralph Tresvant in BET’s The New Edition Story. He later appeared in Detroit, Judas and the Black Messiah, and HBO’s Euphoria.
Hale’s Suge Knight represents a very different part of that ascent. As Death Row Records’ intimidating co-founder, Knight became central to the label where Snoop made his name alongside Dre. Snoop eventually left Death Row for No Limit Records in 1998, years before returning to the brand from an entirely different position. He acquired Death Row Records in 2022, making a film about his complicated history with the company under his own production umbrella a particularly full-circle development.
Read More: Lauren London To Play Snoop Dogg’s Mother In Upcoming Biopic
Other Names Joining The Cast
The expanding cast gives a clearer indication of how much attention Snoop may devote to the relationships surrounding his early career, even though Universal has not released a detailed plot. Myles Bullock Be will portray Dr. Dre, while Camron Jones has been cast as Tupac Shakur. Lauren London will play Snoop’s late mother, Beverly Tate.
Craig Brewer is directing from his rewrite of an original script by Joe Robert Cole. Snoop is producing alongside Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker and Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, with the film incorporating music from his catalog. Universal describes Snoop as the first project under Death Row Pictures’ overall deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios.
Production is expected to begin around Los Angeles in mid-September. Snoop is scheduled to hit theaters August 6, 2027.
