The highly anticipated Tupac Shakur biopic was originally teased to be released sometime this year, but today it was announced that the film will be released next year, on Tupac's birthday.
Actor Dom Santana, who will play Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight in All Eyez On Me, revealed the new release date on his Instagram. "Get ready it’s coming. And please no whining about the date. It’s Pac’s b day. We’re all anxious for it to come out but people gotta remember it’s a major film and there’s a lot of process to releasing major films. Because it was Tupac a lot of buzz was created word of mouth even while we were filming which usually doesn’t happen until a movie is about to come out. This was no regular movie so you’ve been hearing about it since we started. It’s actually right on par with the timing to release a major film after you wrap shooting. So relax and look for the formal announcement soon and actual promotion to start coming out," the actor said. Santana also posted a picture of himself with Demetrius Shipp Jr., the actor who plays Shakur and who has already received a large amount of attention for his uncanny resemblance to the slain rapper.
The first teaser trailer for the film was released earlier this summer. John Singleton, the director of Boyz In The Hood, was originally slated to direct the film but ultimately quit the project, and he has stated publicly that he doesn't believe that the film will properly respect Tupac's legacy. Instead, the film was directed by Benny Boom, who is most well known for directing music videos for 50 Cent, Nas, LL Cool J, and a variety of other hip hop artists. Despite Singleton's pessimism about the project, Compton rapper The Game said he's seen the movie and, being an outspoken fan of Tupac himself, said he was impressed by the film, comparing it favorably to Notorious, the Notorious B.I.G. biopic.
Fans will have to wait until June 16th, 2017 to see for themselves if the movie does justice to the legendary rapper.
By Michael Lacerna for RAPstation.com
