Denzel Washington returns to the screen on August 15 in Highest 2 Lowest, directed by Spike Lee and produced by Apple Original Films and A24. The modern crime drama will open in theaters before streaming globally on Apple TV+ from September 5.
The film reimagines Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 High and Low, itself based on Ed McBain’s King’s Ransom. Washington plays David King, a New York music mogul whose son is kidnapped in a plot that quickly becomes more complicated than expected. In this version, the corporate setting of the original is replaced with the music industry, and the ransom demand stands at £13.5 million (₹143 crore).
A$AP Rocky takes on one of his most significant acting roles as a central figure in the kidnapping plot, also contributing original music to the project. The cast includes Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, Dean Winters, Aubrey Joseph, and Ice Spice.
This marks the fifth collaboration between Washington and Lee, following films such as Malcolm X and Inside Man. Premiering earlier at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Highest 2 Lowest was noted for its cinematography and Lee’s social commentary on class, power, and sacrifice.
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Kurosawa’s original examined Japan’s post-war economic divisions; Lee’s adaptation moves the story to present-day New York, exploring themes of capitalism, fame, and generational trauma.
