Sky commissions documentary on Tupac Shakur murder trial

Sky has commissioned an untitled documentary about the trial that ended with the first conviction for the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. The film will follow the case against Duane "Keffe D" Davis from the first day of evidence through the verdict and sentencing. It is expected to air on Sky Documentaries and NOW in 2027, Sky and Rolling Stone reported.

A Las Vegas jury found Davis guilty of first-degree murder on Aug. 31. It was the first conviction in the case. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 13.

Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996. Davis, a former Los Angeles street gang leader, was arrested in 2023 on allegations that he orchestrated the shooting, Reuters reported. Prosecutors alleged he ordered it in retribution for a beating. He had pleaded not guilty.

Jurors were shown a BET interview in which Davis said he had cancer, had "nothing else to lose" and wanted to tell the truth. Greg Kading, who investigated Shakur's murder, later said the guilty verdict feels like vindication.

The documentary is directed by Marian Mohamed, the BAFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and is being made by Passion Pictures and Propagate Content, with West Buttermilk also involved in production. It will include Shakur's brother Mopreme Shakur among its participants, alongside interviews with other members of the Shakur family. The production will also draw on previously unseen footage and stills provided by the family and confidantes.

For viewers coming to the story fresh, the trial closed a case that had remained unsolved for almost three decades. The film aims to tell that courtroom story in sequence, rather than revisit the wider theories around Shakur's death.