Spike Lee’s latest directorial effort, Highest 2 Lowest, written by William Alan Fox has a brand-new trailer. The film excitingly reunites Lee with longtime collaborator Denzel Washington, with the two having previously paired together for 1990’s Mo’ Better Blues, 1992’s Malcom X, 1998’s He Got Game, and 2006’s Inside Man.
As such, Highest 2 Lowest will be the fifth collaboration between Lee and Washington, though a very interesting change from those previous examples. It’s based on the 1963 Japanese film High and Low which is further based on the 1959 novel King’s Ransom. The film is also being distributed by both A24 and Apple Original Films which includes theatrical and streaming releases, respectively.
Here’s the new official trailer for Highest 2 Lowest:
Fans are definitely in for a treat between the film being yet another collaboration between Lee and Washington and the story having such a great history between the Japanese film that inspired it and the novel which inspired that. Of course, Lee will no doubt be putting his own spin on the material, as the newly-released trailer reveals.
It looks like Washington’s character will be a music mogul that ends up becoming a victim of extortion with a contemporary New York City setting. As for what else happens that ends up being a similarity or major difference, that remains to be seen.
In addition to Washington, the cast of the film also includes Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice, ASAP Rocky, Dean Winters, John Douglas Thompson, LaChanze, Aubrey Joseph, Michael Potts, and Wendell Pierce.
Highest 2 Lowest will be hitting theaters later this year on August 22, 2025. It will then be available to stream soon after via Apple TV Plus on September 5. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding the latest films including Highest 2 Lowest as we have them. For now, though, it’s great to see Spike Lee and Denzel Washington reunited once again.