‘Outer Banks’ star Jonathan Daviss to play Snoop Dogg in biopic

Jonathan Daviss is moving from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to the West Coast.

The Outer Banks star has been tapped to play Snoop Dogg in the upcoming biopic being directed by Hustle & Flow filmmaker Craig Brewer for Universal Pictures, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed. Daviss, 25, is the first actor attached to the film, which is being produced by Snoop, Brian Grazer, and Sara Ramaker.

Brewer will revise a screenplay by Joe Robert Cole, the writer known for his work on Black Panther and The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Menace II Society co-director Allen Hughes was previously attached to helm the Snoop biopic.

Snoop, who played in a supporting role in Brewer’s 2019 movie Dolemite Is My Name, was previously depicted in another Universal hip-hop biopic: the 2015 hit Straight Outta Compton, which followed the rise of N.W.A and featured LaKeith Stanfield as the “Gin and Juice” rapper. A pioneering figure in West Coast hip-hop, Snoop is a 16-time Grammy nominee known especially for his work with Dr. Dre.

Brewer’s other directing credits include Black Snake Moan, Footloose, and Coming 2 America. His latest feature, Song Sung Blue, stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as musicians in a Neil Diamond tribute band. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on Christmas day.

Daviss is best known for his role as Pope Heyward on Netflix’s fan-favorite series Outer Banks. Last November, the drama as renewed for a fifth and final season, just days before the premiere of season 4, part 2.

Co-creators and executive producers Jonas Pate, Josh Pate, and Shannon Burke shared a joint statement in which they reflected on the past seven years of making the series centered on BFFs John B (Chase Stokes), Sarah (Madelyn Cline), Kiara (Madison Bailey), JJ (Rudy Pankow), Pope, and Cleo (Carlacia Grant), and they also promised that the final season would be their best yet.

“In the summer of 2017, we came across a photo of teenagers on a beach at dusk during a power outage. That photo sparked an idea for a story of four best friends who only want to have a good time all the time,” their statement said. “From this beginning, we imagined a mystery that would lead to a five-season journey of adventure, treasure hunting, and friendship.”

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They added that, at the time, “it seemed impossible that we would really get to tell the whole five season story, but here we are, at the end of our fourth season, still chopping away. The fourth season was our longest and hardest — but most rewarding — to produce. The season ends with a feature length episode, which we think is our best, most powerful episode. We hope you feel the same way.”

Outer Banks‘ final season is currently being written, and details will be shared at a later date.