Denzel and A$AP Rocky face city-wide showdown in Spike Lee’s Kurosawa-inspired thriller

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are reuniting after nearly two decades, and their latest collaboration is anything but quiet. Highest 2 Lowest, the new film from Apple and A24, sees the acclaimed duo return with a Kurosawa-inspired crime thriller set against the gritty chaos of present-day New York City. The film, which debuted out of competition at Cannes, hits cinemas August 15 before streaming on Apple TV+ from September 5.

The story reimagines Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic High and Low, this time through the lens of a modern music industry tycoon. Denzel Washington stars as a powerful mogul whose world is thrown into crisis after a kidnapping gone wrong leads to an explosive spiral of extortion, violence, and moral reckoning.

Joining him is A$AP Rocky, whose role has already sparked praise from Lee, who called the rapper “underrated and committed.” The cast also features Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice, Ilfenesh Hadera, and Dean Winters, creating a uniquely high-stakes ensemble for this noir revival.

This marks the fifth and possibly final collaboration between Lee and Washington, a detail the director hinted at during the film’s press rounds. “This is it, five,” Lee said, calling Highest 2 Lowest a culmination of their creative journey.

Shot with Lee’s signature visual punch and set to a pulsing urban score, the film brings class tensions, cultural fault lines, and personal sacrifice into a single narrative thread. From red carpets to ransom calls, this is a story where the stakes are financial, emotional, and deeply human.

Behind the camera, the film was co-written by Alan Fox and Lee, with production from Escape Artists, Mandalay Pictures, and 40 Acres and a Mule. Executive producers include Katia Washington, Peter Guber, and Matthew Lindner, among others.

Expect a sleek, stylised showdown when Highest 2 Lowest drops, one that pushes Lee’s legacy and Washington’s gravitas into bold, uncharted territory.