Denzel Washington and Spike Lee to Remake Classic ’60s Movie

Do The Right Thing staple Spike Lee and Oscar winner Denzel Washington are reuniting for an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low. The reunion comes nearly 20 years after their last collaboration, 2006’s Inside Man. The film icons have also worked together on Mo’ Better Blues, Malcolm X, and He Got Game. 

Filming for High and Low is currently scheduled to begin in March. Apple Original Films announced the company is co-financing the film, which A24 will release theatrically. It will later be available to stream on Apple TV+. Alan Fox, a former college basketball player and model turned playwright, is penning the script. Fox also appeared in the Taylor Swift video “Fifteen.” His script Queens of the Stoned Age, about a model who becomes a weed dealer, will be distributed via Sony with Dakota Johnson starring.

Released in 1963, Kurosawa’s High and Low is a 1963 Japanese police crime drama. It was adapted from the Ed McBain novel King’s Ransom. The film chronicles follows a wealthy industrialist targeted by kidnappers.

According to The Guardian, the story was also the inspiration behind Steven Soderbergh’s 2023 miniseries Full Circle. In 2008, it was reported that Martin Scorsese would be developing a remake scripted by David Mamet, but nothing came of it. 

Lee has been open about being a fan of Kurosawa, noting that his 1986 comedy She’s Gotta Have It was influenced by Rashomon. When asked about career longevity last year, Lee said: “Kurosawa was 86! I got to at least get to Kurosawa.”

Washington has kept busy in the past year alone. His latest theatrical release, seen in The Equalizer 3, grossed $191 million worldwide. He will also star in this year’s release of Gladiator 2 for director Ridley Scott alongside Paul Mescal. Lee’s last film was 2020’s Da 5 Bloods.