Watch Trailer - Denzel Washington and Spike Lee Reunite for NYC Thriller Highest 2 Lowest -

 Denzel Washington and Spike Lee Reunite for NYC Thriller Highest 2 Lowest

Nearly two decades since their last collaboration, two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington is reuniting with director Spike Lee for Highest 2 Lowest, a high-stakes crime thriller set in present-day New York City. The film, a bold reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s classic High and Low, will open in select theaters on August 22 and debut globally on Apple TV+ on September 5.

The film stars Washington as a legendary music mogul—celebrated in the industry for his near-mythical ability to spot hits—whose world unravels when he becomes the target of a chilling ransom plot. As the situation escalates, he is forced into a harrowing moral crossroads, testing the boundaries of loyalty, justice, and survival in a city that never sleeps.

Joining Washington on screen are Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction), Ilfenesh Hadera (Godfather of Harlem), and A$AP Rocky in a breakout role. This marks the fifth collaboration between Washington and Lee, whose previous films include Mo’ Better Blues, Malcolm X, He Got Game, and Inside Man.

The film draws direct inspiration from Kurosawa’s 1963 crime drama, shifting the story from corporate Japan to the music industry underbelly of New York, where money, power, and influence collide. In Lee’s hands, Highest 2 Lowest becomes both a pulse-pounding thriller and a social commentary rooted in the dynamics of race, class, and power in 21st-century America.

Lee, who has long described Kurosawa as one of his greatest influences, brings his signature kinetic style and politically charged lens to the material. Washington, meanwhile, returns to a morally conflicted lead role that echoes his most iconic performances—from Training Day to Flight.

The teaser trailer, released today, hints at the film’s high tension and sleek urban style, underscored by a propulsive score and shadowy visuals of New York’s outer boroughs.

Highest 2 Lowest opens in select theaters on August 22. Streaming exclusively on Apple TV+ starting September 5.