This is the 5th film for the dynamic duo that is Spike & Denzel!
Spike Lee is back—and this time, he’s bringing an all-star cast, a New York state of mind, and his signature storytelling to the global stage. The legendary director is making his triumphant return to feature filmmaking with Highest 2 Lowest, a modern-day crime thriller about a music mogul targeted for ransom that reunites him with longtime collaborator Denzel Washington and introduces fresh faces like A$AP Rocky to his cinematic world, Pitchfork reports.
Premiering this month at the Cannes Film Festival, Highest 2 Lowest is Lee’s first feature since 2020’s Da 5 Bloods, and his first film with Washington since Inside Man nearly two decades ago. Based loosely on Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low—itself inspired by Ed McBain’s novel The King’s Ransom—the film transplants the high-stakes tension of the original into the streets of present-day New York City, Variety reports.
“One of the best things about film school is that you get introduced to world cinema, not just Hollywood,” Lee shared last year at the Red Sea Film Festival. “Seeing Kurosawa’s film Rashomon and its structure inspired me to make She’s Gotta Have It… From the very beginning of my career, I was influenced by Kurosawa.”
Now, Lee channels that influence into a gripping tale that explores power, morality, and survival in a city that never sleeps. The teaser, recently released by A24 and Apple Original Films, gives audiences a thrilling first look at the film’s dynamic cast—featuring Washington, Rocky, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, Dean Winters, John Douglas Thompson, and Bronx rapper Ice Spice.
“I’m just glad we got five in,” Lee said of his latest collaboration with Denzel Washington. Their reunion alone is reason to celebrate, but the addition of rising cultural icons like Met Gala co-chair A$AP Rocky signals a generational handoff—a classic Spike Lee joint with a pulse on what’s next.
Produced by A24, Apple, Escape Artists, Mandalay Pictures, and Lee’s own 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, the film wrapped production in New York in May 2024 with cinematography by the acclaimed Matthew Libatique.
Highest 2 Lowest Cannes debut is already on the horizon and is expected to hit theaters August 22nd, available for streaming on Apple TV+ starting September 5. With a new Spike Lee joint coming, it’s safe to say: the city is watching—and the beloved director is reminding the world why he’s still one of the greatest to ever do it.
Check out the trailer for Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest below!
Cover photo: Denzel Washington & A$AP Rocky Shine in Trailer for Spike Lee’s New Crime Thriller ‘Highest 2 Lowest’/Photo credit: Johnny Nunez/WireImage