Spike Lee and Denzel Washington Are Reuniting for a Remake

Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage

Ah yes, the four Rs of the film industry: reduce, reuse, recycle, and remake. Per Variety, Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are reuniting to give us an English-language version of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller High and Low (which was itself a loose adaptation of Ed McBain’s 1959 pulp novel King’s Ransom). Kurosawa’s take followed a Japanese businessman who is targeted by a ransom-hungry kidnapper. It’s not too surprising that Lee is doing this project; he’s been a longtime fan of Kurosawa, previously telling Vulture that She’s Gotta Have It was inspired by Rashomon. Lee wrote the script with playwright Alan Fox, and production is scheduled to begin in March. This will mark Lee and Washington’s first movie together since 2006’s Inside Man, and fifth collab overall. Their version of High and Low will be released in theaters by A24 before launching on Apple TV+. We’ll have to wait and see if the film will end up being a career high or low (sorry, had to do it).