Goodbye, Elphaba! Hello, Afeni!
Cynthia Erivo has officially been cast as Tupac Shakur’s mother, the late former Black Panthers activist Afeni Shakur, in Universal Pictures’ upcoming Snoop Dogg biopic.
The three-time Oscar nominee and Tony, Grammy and Emmy winner joins a dazzling lineup that includes Jonathan Daviss as Snoop Dogg, Myles Bullcok Be as Dr. Dre, Lauren London as Beverly Tate and Camron Jones as Tupac. Snoop, which is currently in production in Southern California, is rounded out by Ice-T, Algee Smith, Tre Hale, Laya DeLeon Hayes, Olly Sholotan, Corey Champagne, Jonica Booth and SwayvoTwain.
Afeni Shakur was a key figure in her son’s life. Tupac’s rocky relationship with her inspired “Dear Mama,” a Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit (No. 9) that became one of the most beloved and acclaimed songs in the hip-hop canon. The single appeared on his 1995 Me Against the World LP, which earned a Grammy nomination for best rap album, while “Mama” snagged a nod for best rap solo performance.
Erivo most recently graced the silver screen with this year’s Prima Facie, a legal drama that served as her official follow-up to her Oscar-nominated turn as Elphaba Thropp in 2024’s Wicked and 2025’s Wicked: For Good. Next year, Snoop expands her slate to four feature films, including animated musical fantasy comedy Bad Fairies, action thriller Karoshi and the highly anticipated fantasy film Children of Blood and Bone.
Hustle & Flow director Craig Brewer will direct Snoop, with Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer — who helped bring Eminem’s 8 Mile to life — and Allan Mandelbaum joining on production. Snoop Dogg and Death Row Pictures president Sara Ramaker are also producing, with songs from the Cali rapper’s catalog set to appear in the film.
Erivo’s casting news comes amid a buzzy month for the multihyphenate. Last month (Oct. 24), she hosted Saturday Night Live UK, where she nailed a hilarious “Nigerian Wicked” Nollywood parody sketch that went viral across social media. On Oct. 15, she played a solo headlining one-night-only show at the Hollywood Bowl, where she nailed covers of Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston classics. Currently, Erivo is working on her turn as history-making South African singer Miriam Makeba in The Road Home, the forthcoming film from Dreamgirls director Bill Condon.