After nearly two decades apart, Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are back in action. Apple and A24 have officially unveiled the first trailer for Highest 2 Lowest, a contemporary crime thriller inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 masterpiece High and Low. The film is set to premiere in theaters on August 15, with a streaming release on Apple TV+ following on September 5.
From Kurosawa to Concrete Jungle
Highest 2 Lowest transposes the moral tension of Kurosawa’s original story from post-war Japan to present-day New York City. In this reimagining, Washington plays a powerful hip-hop mogul whose life is upended when a ruthless kidnapper mistakenly abducts his chauffeur’s child instead of his own. As the plot unravels, the mogul is faced with a gut-wrenching ethical dilemma: pay the ransom for a child not his own or preserve his empire’s standing.
The film pays direct homage to High and Low, itself based on Ed McBain’s crime novel King’s Ransom, but with a sharp Lee lens on race, class, power, and the cost of redemption in modern America.
A Reunion 19 Years in the Making
Highest 2 Lowest marks the first collaboration between Washington and Lee since 2006’s Inside Man, a box office hit and critical success. Their reunion alone is cause for celebration, but the film also boasts a striking supporting cast. Rapper A$AP Rocky makes a rare screen appearance, joined by Emmy-winner Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, Dean Winters, John Douglas Thompson, and breakout star Ice Spice.
The film debuted out of competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival to considerable buzz. The screening was especially meaningful for Lee, marking his sixth appearance in the Official Selection and falling exactly 36 years after the Cannes debut of Do the Right Thing in 1989.
A New York State of Crime
While Kurosawa’s film leaned on long takes and black-and-white contrast to evoke its moral fog, the trailer for Highest 2 Lowest promises a kinetic, neon-lit descent into New York’s underworld. Spike Lee’s signature visual style, bold colors, dolly shots, and politically charged backdrops, is on full display. The trailer hints at a layered narrative with whispers of police procedural, media manipulation, and the seductive power of wealth.
The film was written by Lee and screenwriter Alan Fox. It was produced by Todd Black (Escape Artists) and Jason Michael Berman (Mandalay Pictures), with executive production by Lee through his 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, Peter Guber for Mandalay, and Katia Washington, Denzel’s daughter, alongside Matthew Lindner, Chris Brigham, and Jordan Moldo.
Apple and A24 Double Down on Auteur-Driven Cinema
Highest 2 Lowest is the latest prestige collaboration between Apple and A24, following their critically acclaimed efforts like The Tragedy of Macbeth and Beau Is Afraid. With both studios known for championing bold, auteur-driven projects, this film adds further weight to their reputations for redefining what studio-backed streaming films can look like.
Spike Lee, who’s been outspoken about systemic inequality in both his documentaries and narrative films, appears poised to once again ignite cultural conversation, this time through the prism of ransom, reputation, and revenge.
Check out the official trailer for Highest 2 Lowest now and mark your calendar for its theatrical debut on August 15. The film will stream exclusively on Apple TV+ starting September 5.
