Spike Lee & Denzel Reunite with A$AP Rocky in Searing Crime Drama "Highest 2 Lowest" Trailer Finally Drops

It's been a while in the making, but Spike Lee finally took the plunge and hit "post," blessing the world with the first trailer for his highly anticipated crime thriller Highest 2 Lowest, and the internet's already buzzing. Instead of posting the teaser on his Instagram page, Lee finally offered fans a taste of what his new vision would look like, and as it turned out, it would look like a gritty return to form, with none other than Denzel Washington and A$AP Rocky leading the pack.

The movie also represents Spike Lee and Denzel Washington's storied fifth partnership as a director and actor, as the two men ride together again for the first time since they did so in 2006's Inside Man. Lee knows as much, of course, and says so in his signature blunt style on Instagram:

"Y'ALL HAS BEEN ASKIN 4 IT, SO HERE IT IS #HELLALONG! AND TO KICK THINGS OFF, HERE IS YOUR TEASER TRAILER OF DA 5th RETURN OF DAND #LEE HIGHEST 2 LOWEST. And that's Da WASHINGTONS/LEES FAMILY TRUTH, RUTH." YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF. STRAIGHT UP."

As usual, Lee's teaser doesn't give away everything, but it establishes a stylized tense, a capital S, and is infected by urban grime. The plot, which takes some cues from Akira Kurosawa's High and Low (1963) and Ed McBain's crime novel King's Ransom, centers on a music mogul embroiled in a criminal conspiracy. Performed by Washington, naturally. Slick, straight-arrow, and always several steps ahead, so we assume.

"I was on Instagram, like, four or five years ago, and I was looking, and other people were, 'A$AP looks like he's Denzel's son,' so I was like, we might as well call the movie Denzel's Son," Lee said on the 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast. "I saw those memes and put it in the movie. A$AP, man, he fire."

This is Rocky's most significant acting role yet; if that trailer indicates, he's going all in. In her debut big-screen appearance, the cast also boasts Godfather of Harlem's Ilfenesh Hadera, the always-excellent Jeffrey Wright, and rapper Ice Spice.

Made by A24, Highest 2 Lowest will be unveiled out of competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival before it hits theaters, followed by an Apple TV+ release.

The project is already shaping up to be a film event not just because of its star power but also because of what it represents: a return to form for Spike and Denzel, two titans who helped define modern Black cinema. Toss in a fearless new cast, a twist on a classic, and that signature Lee heat, and you've got a movie that's more than eagerly awaited and necessary.