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Spike Lee and Denzel Washington's latest collab "Highest 2 Lowest" releases teaser

By Chris Morgan | Last updated May 5, 2025 4:33 PM ET

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington have worked together in the past, including in the successes of "Malcolm X" and "Inside Man." There are many who argue for "Malcolm X" being Washington's finest acting work. Now, the two are collaborating once more in Lee's next film, "Highest 2 Lowest." The director just dropped a teaser for the curious out there.

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Lee is getting his cinephile on for his latest joint, as this film is a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa's crime drama "High and Low." What Lee has done is taken the bones of that story, modernized it, and, shockingly, moved the action to New York City. The film is set in the music industry, so perhaps it is not surprising that A$AP Rocky and Ice Spice are included in the cast.

"Highest 2 Lowest" is playing at the Cannes Film Festival later this month. Then, it will hit theaters for a brief run starting August 22 before arriving on Apple TV+ on September 5. It feels like these days Washington is either doing an empty-calories action movie or an adaptation of an August Wilson play, so it's nice to see him operating in a different space, even if it is with a director he knows quite well.

(h/t The Hollywood Reporter)

Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

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