Spike Lee confirmed Highest 2 Lowest will likely be his final film with Denzel Washington, closing out a legendary five-film collaboration.
Spike Lee confirmed that his upcoming film Highest 2 Lowest will likely mark the end of his decades-long creative partnership with Denzel Washington.
The movie will cap a five-film run that helped shape modern American cinema.
Speaking at a press conference during the Cannes Film Festival, Lee said, “I think this is it – five. He’s been talking about retirement, so… Even though he just did another deal. I thought you said you were retired Denzel, what’s up?! But those five films together, those stand up.”
Their latest project, Highest 2 Lowest, is a stylish reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 thriller High and Low. In the film, Washington plays a powerful music executive whose life is upended when his driver’s child is abducted in a case of mistaken identity.
The movie also stars Jeffrey Wright and A$AP Rocky, and is set to hit U.S. theaters in August.
Washington, who did not attend the press conference, was present at the film’s premiere and photocall. His appearance made headlines after a tense moment with a photographer on the red carpet.
Lee and Washington last worked together on 2006’s Inside Man and the director admitted the long gap between collaborations caught them both off guard.
“It’s an 18-year gap and we were surprised it was like yesterday, because we didn’t lose a step,” Lee said.
Reflecting on their 1992 film Malcolm X, Lee didn’t hold back when discussing what he believes was an Oscar snub for Washington. “Malcolm X, what he did with that film was amazing. And no disrespect to my brother Al Pacino, I love him. But Denzel, in my opinion, should have won,” Lee said, according to Variety.
“But we don’t do our work for awards, which are nice, but it’s the work that is going to stand above all awards.”
Highest 2 Lowest will be released in the United States in August.
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