Spike Lee confirms A$AP Rocky as lead actor in new Akira Kurosawa adaptation
Rapper A$AP Rocky is set to star in Highest 2 Lowest, the new film from acclaimed director Spike Lee.
The movie will borrow its story from the 1963 film High and Low, directed by Akira Kurosawa, and is set to feature a star-studded cast. Rocky is the latest name to be added to the call sheet, as Lee reveals that the rapper will take on a leading role in the film.
During a conversation with Deadline, Lee spoke about the upcoming project, acknowledging that Rocky will play “the main role” in Highest 2 Lowest. The director didn’t reveal much more about Rocky’s part in the film, but he did address the changes he plans to make from his source material.
“This is not a remake,” Lee clarified, “this is a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s great film.” The director acknowledged one significant change to the plot of the film, sharing his plans to shift the occupation of its main character from executive at a shoe company to music industry boss.
“In Kurowasa’s film,” he acknowledged, “Toshiro Mifune is a shoemaker. In our film, Denzel Washington is a music mogul with his own label and his reputation as the best ears in the business. So, this is the fifth film with the dynamic duo.”
Washington and Lee are long-term collaborators, having previously worked together on Inside Man, He Got Game, Malcolm X and Mo’ Better Blues. Meanwhile, this will mark the director’s first collaboration with Rocky. Although he is more well-known for his successful music career, the rapper has previously ventured into the world of film, appearing in Rick Famuyiwa’s Dope in 2015 and Anthony Mandler’s Monster in 2018.
Rocky is also set to star in Mary Bronstein’s upcoming film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, alongside Rose Byrne and Helen Hong.
What else do we know about Spike Lee’s new movie?
Acclaimed distribution and production company A24 are set to release Highest 2 Lowest next year, although an official date for the film is yet to be confirmed.
Rocky isn’t the only music star who is set to appear in Lee’s latest offering. Fellow rapper Ice Spice has also been cast in Highest 2 Lowest, marking her first feature film appearance. Jeffrey Wright, Dean Winters, Michael Potts, Ilfenesh Hadera and John Douglas Thompson will also appear in the film.
Highest 2 Lowest will mark Lee’s first new film in five years, following the release of Da 5 Bloods in 2020. The thriller project will be based on the 1963 film High and Low, but little more has been revealed about the plot or characters of the reinterpretation.
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