Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest is already one of the buzziest premieres of the year—and now, two more names just added fuel to the fire. Aubrey Joseph (Cloak & Dagger) and Elijah Wright have joined the powerhouse cast.
This casting adds another powerful layer to a project already rich with intergenerational artistry. Highest 2 Lowest is Spike Lee’s bold reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, swapping out 1960s Tokyo for modern-day New York and placing the music industry at the heart of the story. When a botched kidnapping threatens everything David King has built, the moral fallout ripples across families, friendships, and power structures.
The film also stars Denzel Washington, A$AP Rocky, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice, LaChanze, Michael Potts, Dean Winters, and John Douglas Thompson. With music, money, and morality on the line, the story is as much about legacy and loyalty as it is about life-or-death decisions.
Joseph plays Trey King, the son of a legendary record producer, David King, portrayed by Denzel Washington. Wright steps into the role of Kyle, the son of David’s chauffeur and close confidante, Paul Christopher—played by none other than his real-life father, Jeffrey Wright. Yes, you read that right: Elijah and Jeffrey Wright are sharing the screen in one of the most talked-about films of the year. Legacy on and off the screen.
Behind the camera, Spike Lee is back in full force, directing from a script by Alan Fox (with Lee doing his own rewrite). It’s his fifth time teaming up with Denzel Washington, and their first in nearly 20 years. The film was shot in New York earlier this year and features cinematography by Matthew Libatique. It’s being produced by A24, Apple Original Films, Escape Artists, Mandalay Pictures, and Lee’s own 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks.
Following its world premiere on May 19—the same day Do the Right Thing premiered at Cannes in 1989 and what would have been Malcolm X’s 100th birthday—Highest 2 Lowest will debut in theaters before streaming on Apple TV+.
With a legacy cast, dynamic new talent, and a director entering a new chapter of creative resurgence, Highest 2 Lowest is shaping up to be one of the year’s most electric releases. And with father and son on screen together? That’s the kind of storytelling we live for.
Watch the teaser trailer below.