Highest 2 Lowest Release Date, Cast and Characters, Trailer Breakdown, and more

The upcoming neo-noir crime thriller film Highest 2 Lowest is already making waves ahead of its official theatrical release, thanks to its powerhouse creative team and a gripping trailer released a few hours ago that hints at a deep emotional and moral conflict. 

The synopsis for the film, as per A24’s website, reads: 

When a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the “best ears in the business”, is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma. 

The crime thriller film, inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic High and Low, reteams actor Denzel Washington with director Spike Lee for their first collaboration since Inside Man nearly two decades ago. Akira Kurosawa’s classic itself was a loose adaptation of the 1959 novel King’s Ransom by Evan Hunter. 

Highest 2 Lowest release details explored

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Apple TV (@appletv)

The neo-noir crime thriller film Highest 2 Lowest will premiere in theaters on August 15, 2025, in the United States before making its way to Apple TV+ on September 5. The film had its world premiere out of competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, marking Spike Lee’s sixth appearance at Cannes and landing on the exact anniversary of his first showing there with Do the Right Thing in 1989.

While the original High and Low followed a Japanese shoe executive caught in a moral dilemma after a ransom is demanded for his chauffeur’s kidnapped son, Highest 2 Lowest transports the story to modern-day New York City. 

Cast and Crew details for the upcoming crime thriller

The ensemble cast for Highest 2 Lowest is led by Denzel Washington as David King, a towering music executive. Opposite him is A$AP Rocky as Yung Felony, David’s son, in what is being praised as a breakout dramatic turn. Other notable cast members include Jeffrey Wright as Paul Christopher, Ilfenesh Hadera as Pam King, Dean Winters as Det. Higgins, John Douglas Thompson as Det. Earl Bridges, and rapper Ice Spice as Marisol Cepeda.

Spike Lee directs the film and also serves as executive producer under his 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks banner. The production is a collaboration between Apple, A24, Escape Artists, and Mandalay Pictures. Todd Black produced for Escape Artists, while Jason Michael Berman led production duties for Mandalay. Executive producers include Peter Guber, Matthew Lindner, Chris Brigham, Katia Washington, and Spike Lee himself. Jordan Moldo of Mandalay served as co-producer. 

The script, co-authored by Alan Fox and Lee, brings a contemporary sensibility to Kurosawa’s original concept while exploring the nuances of power and justice in today’s America.

Trailer breakdown

The King is here. Spike Lee reunites with Denzel Washington for the first time in 20 years for HIGHEST 2 LOWEST — only in theaters August 15, streaming September 5 on Apple TV+ pic.twitter.com/EcqAMMZ9yv

— A24 (@A24) August 4, 2025

The first trailer for Highest 2 Lowest offers a glimpse into the film’s high-stakes narrative and is available on A24's official YouTube channel and social media accounts. Opening with panoramic shots of Manhattan, viewers are quickly introduced to Washington’s character—a man at the top of his game in the music industry. That success is abruptly challenged when he receives a chilling phone call: his son has been kidnapped, and the ransom is $17.5 million in cash. When he tries to explain that he doesn’t have that kind of money readily available, the kidnapper coldly hangs up.

What follows is a montage of desperate searches, strained conversations, and tense showdowns. A$AP Rocky’s presence is powerful in the few seconds he appears, with a defiant energy that contrasts with the despair of his father.

The cinematography blends naturalistic lighting with Lee’s signature bold visual style. There are flashes of surveillance footage, emotionally charged confrontations, and looming silence that underscore the emotional weight of the situation. The trailer ends on a haunting question: “What would you pay to get back what you never really had?”—inviting viewers to consider whether the film’s ransom is financial, emotional, or something else entirely.

With its theatrical release fast approaching and a streaming debut close behind, Highest 2 Lowest stands out as both a tribute to a cinematic classic and a bold, urgent commentary on modern life. Between the reunion of Spike Lee and Denzel Washington and a trailer that’s already sparking conversation, Highest 2 Lowest is promising to be one of the top films of the year.

Stay tuned with us for further updates.