‘Highest 2 Lowest’: Spike Lee Shares First-Look At A24 Kidnap Thriller Starring Denzel Washington & A$AP Rocky

In the wake of A$AP Rocky‘s not-guilty verdict over gun/shooting charges, director Spike Lee (“Da 5 Bloods”) is celebrating the news today by sharing a first-look image on Instagram from his Cannes-bound kidnap thriller “Highest 2 Lowest,” which stars the musician alongside Denzel Washington (“Malcolm X”) in Lee’s remake of the Akira Kurosawa classic “High & Low.”

READ MORE: Cannes 2025 Expected To See Films From Spike Lee, Kristen Stewart, Scarlett Johansson, Jim Jarmusch & More

Kurosawa was adapting the Evan Hunter, aka Ed McBain novel “King’s Ransom,” which was published back in 1959. Washington is expected to be playing the role of the executive thrust into the kidnapping plot, a role that had been previously played by the legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune (“Yojimbo”).

Oscar-winner Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”), Ice Spice, Dean Winters (“John Wick,” “Oz”), and more will star as well.

While we wait for an official logline, here is what the Kurosawa film released in 1963 was about: An executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.

“Highest 2 Lowest” will be released this summer by A24 as mentioned by the filmmaker and by the looks of things, a trailer is on the horizon as Lee’s post is an obvious screenshot from upcoming marketing materials.

Support independent movie journalism to keep it alive. Sign up for The Playlist Newsletter. All the content you want and, oh, right, it’s free.

On the visual side of things, Lee is reunting with cinematorgrapher Matthew Libatique (“Straight Outta Compton”) after working with the in-demand director of photography on his satire “Chi-Raq,” the WWII movie “Miracle At St. Anna,” and his heist thriller “Inside Man.” Libatique was also behind the camera on films known for their visually-striking shots such as “Iron Man,” “Requiem For A Dream,” and “Black Swan.”

More information and release details are likely not too far away now, so, stay tuned.