It’s been nearly 20 years, but one of the greatest actors of his entire generation is once again teaming up with one of the most prolific filmmakers of all time. The news of a fresh Spike Lee joint is always reason for celebration, but this one comes with even more hype than usual. For the first time since 2006’s “Inside Man,” Denzel Washington will be starring in one of Lee’s films … and it’s a remake of an Akira Kurosawa classic, at that. What’s not to love? Despite A24 posting on social media earlier this morning that a new teaser would be releasing tomorrow, Lee went ahead and dropped our first look at footage for “Highest 2 Lowest” on his personal Instagram account. For a man who marches by the beat of his own drum, well, the studio had little choice but to follow his lead.
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We first heard about this new Washington and Lee project back in February of 2024, marking the latest collaboration between the duo after “Mo’ Better Blues,” “Malcolm X,” “He Got Game,” and “Inside Man.” This time, they’re putting their own spin on Kurosawa’s 1963 kidnapping thriller “High and Low” and taking the action from the island of Japan to the streets of New York City. And, folks, we couldn’t possibly be more excited about what this unparalleled creative partnership has in store for us. Check out the new teaser above!
Highest 2 Lowest brings Spike Lee and Denzel Washington back to New York City
With respect to Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson, few director/actor pairings mange to light a fire under us quite like Spike Lee and Denzel Washington … and that goes double for one bringing the two back to a very familiar setting. Although the duo are most famous for joining forces on the 1992 masterpiece “Malcolm X,” genre fans have always had a soft spot for their work together on the gritty, street-level thriller “Inside Man.” Set in New York City during a daring heist that turns into a hostage situation, the 2006 film showcased both creative forces at the absolute height of their talents. The two haven’t lost a single step in the nearly two decades since, however, and “Highest 2 Lowest” will be bringing them back to their ol’ stomping grounds in a way we’ve never seen before.
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Taking its cues from the Akira Kurosawa film “High and Low,” which centers on a Japanese businessman (played by the great Toshiro Mifune) who falls prey to a ransom scheme gone horribly wrong, the remake stars Washington as a “titan music mogul” who eventually winds up a similar conundrum with life-or-death stakes. But Washington is hardly the only star in the spotlight, as the cast also includes rappers A$AP Rocky, along with character actor extraordinaire Jeffrey Wright (most recently seen in season 2 of “The Last of Us”) and Ilfenesh Hadera. As a joint A24 and Apple production, “Highest 2 Lowest” will hit select theaters on August 22, 2025, before streaming on Apple TV+ on September 5, 2025. Its synopsis reads as follows:
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When a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the “best ears in the business”, is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma. Brothers Denzel Washington and Spike Lee reunite for the 5th in their long working relationship for a reinterpretation of the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller ‘High and Low,’ now played out on the mean streets of modern day New York City. Solana Token Creator
