Denzel Washington Reteams With His Best Director For Classic Thriller Remake

Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low starred Toshiro Mifune as a shoe company executive whose family is targeted by a kidnapper for extortion. There’s no word on how closely Denzel Washington and Spike Lee’s film will follow the original plot. The film will be released by A24 theatrically before it hits Apple TV+ for streaming.

Denzel Washington and Spike Lee’s High and Low is set to start production this March. The film is co-written by Alan Fox and Lee, who is also executive producing the project through his 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks company. A24 is developing and producing the film with Escape Artists and Mandalay Pictures. There is no word on a release date for the film at this time.

High and Low will be the fifth time that Denzel Washington and Spike Lee have worked together. All of their collaborations have been great, with their previous collaborations being Mo’ Better Blues, He Got Game, Malcolm X, and Inside Man. Washington was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Malcolm X.

High and Low will also be Denzel Washington’s second collaboration with Apple Original Films and A24 after 2021’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. Washington earned a Best Actor nomination for his performance as the tragic Scottish king. A24 is up for seven nominations at this year’s Oscars for its films Past Lives and Zone of Interest.

Denzel Washington will also be starring in a major blockbuster later this year with Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2. Gladiator 2 is a direct sequel to Gladiator, with Ridley Scott directing and David Scarpa writing the screenplay. Paul Mescal will lead the film as Lucius Verus, who was a child in the original film and portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark.

Gladiator 2 takes place roughly 15 years after the original film and will also star Derek Jacobi, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, and May Calamawy. Connie Nielsen also reprises her role as Lucilla, Lucius’ mother. We can expect to see Denzel Washington and the rest of the Gladiator 2 cast when the film hits theaters on November 22. 

While we wait for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 and Spike Lee’s High and Low, you can check out Denzel Washington in his most recent film, The Equalizer 3. The Equalizer 3 sees Washington reprising his role as Robert McCall, who finds out his friends are under the thumb of the local mafia bosses in Southern Italy. The film, currently streaming on Netflix, is directed by Washington’s frequent collaborator Antoine Fuqua and stars his Man on Fire co-star Dakota Fanning.

Source: Deadline