Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are officially back together.
Apple and A24 have released the official trailer for Highest 2 Lowest, a modern-day crime thriller reimagining Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low through the lens of New York City’s music industry. The film reunites Lee and Washington for the first time since 2006’s Inside Man and is set to hit theaters on August 15, followed by a September 5 streaming release on Apple TV+.
In Highest 2 Lowest, Washington plays David King, a legendary music mogul with the “best ears in the business,” whose empire is rocked when a kidnapping gone wrong entangles him in a high-stakes moral dilemma. When his driver’s child is abducted by mistake, King is forced to make an impossible choice that puts everything—his legacy, wealth, and moral compass—on the line.
The film also stars A$AP Rocky, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, Ice Spice (making her feature debut), LaChanze, Michael Potts, Dean Winters, Aubrey Joseph, Elijah Wright, and John Douglas Thompson.
Set to the sounds of “The Big Payback” by James Brown, the trailer opens with a confident Washington declaring to his driver, played by Wright, “I need theme music,” before the unraveling chaos begins.
Highest 2 Lowest debuted out of competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, marking Spike Lee’s sixth appearance at Cannes and coming 36 years after his debut with Do the Right Thing.
Developed by Apple and A24 in collaboration with Escape Artists and Mandalay Pictures, the film is written by Alan Fox and Lee. It’s produced by Todd Black, Jason Michael Berman, and executive produced by Peter Guber, Matthew Lindner, Chris Brigham, Katia Washington, and Lee through his 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks banner.
With bold visuals, a cast full of generational talent, and a tense narrative rooted in power, loyalty, and morality, Highest 2 Lowest is shaping up to be one of the most talked-about films of the year.
Watch the official trailer for Highest 2 Lowest above.