Denzel Washington as a Music Mogul in Spike Lee’s ‘Highest 2 Lowest’?

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In Spike Lee’s modern adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s iconic crime thriller “High and Low,” titled Highest 2 Lowest, a sneak peek has been unveiled, featuring Denzel Washington‘s character. He is depicted on the subway, donning a hooded jacket, a New York Yankees cap, and sunglasses. Earlier reports indicated that Washington would embody a fresh take on Toshiro Mifune’s character, Kingo Gondo, from the 1963 Japanese film. Instead of being a shoemaker, he will portray “a prominent figure in the music industry, known for his label and reputation as an exceptional judge of talent.

The recent glimpse at “Highest 2 Lowest” (provided below) follows swiftly after Lee posted a picture of the film’s main actor, A$AP Rocky, in what looked like an orange prison uniform. It hasn’t been clarified yet which character Rocky portrays, but he’s been labeled as Yung Felon, a fitting moniker given that he seems to be incarcerated in his initial appearance. Some fans have proposed that Rocky may ultimately transform into the ruthless kidnapper, who mistakenly abducts the son of Gondo’s chauffeur in the original film and holds him captive for a ransom of 30 million yen.

This marks the fifth time Lee and Washington have worked together, with previous collaborations including “Mo’ Better Blues”, “Malcolm X”, “He Got Game”, and “Inside Man”. Following their Oscar-nominated work on “Da 5 Bloods”, this is Spike Lee’s first feature film. It is an adaptation of Kurosawa’s thriller classic, which was inspired by Ed McBain’s 1959 detective novel “King’s Ransom”. In the movie, Washington plays a character who appears to find himself in a predicament similar to Gondo, potentially caught up in a blackmail scheme. The cast includes Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, Dean Winters, and Ice Spice making her debut in feature film acting.

‘Highest 2 Lowest’ Will Premiere at Cannes Film Festival

Spike Lee’s latest film, titled “Highest 2 Lowest,” starring Denzel Washington, has been invited to premiere out-of-competition at the 2025 Cannes International Film Festival. This announcement was made by the director himself on Instagram following the festival’s lineup announcement on April 10th. In his post, Lee wrote, “Bon Jour. Good Morning. Whaddup? Da New SPIKE LEE JOINT-Highest 2 Lowest Starring My Brother DENZEL WASHINGTON Has Been Invited To Da 2025 CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (In The Out Of Competition Category).

It remains uncertain if the premiere of “Highest 2 Lowest” was to be announced prior to the event or if it was inadvertently overlooked by Thierry Frémaux, the artistic director, and Iris Knobloch, the president, when they compiled the list of selected titles for Cannes. Regardless, the movie joins an impressive lineup featuring Wes Anderson’s newest film titled “The Phoenician Scheme“, Ari Aster’s quasi-Western “Eddington“, and Christopher McQuarrie’s long-awaited “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning“, which marks a significant milestone for Tom Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt.

Sources: X/Twitter, Instagram

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2025-04-10 22:02