EXCLUSIVE: Ilfenesh Hadera (Godfather of Harlem) has been tapped to star opposite Denzel Washington in Apple and A24‘s High and Low, an English-language reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller, from filmmaker Spike Lee.
She comes to the project following collaborations with Lee on his acclaimed Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It, based on his classic 1986 film, as well as his movies Chi-Raq and Oldboy.
Loosely based on the 1959 novel King’s Ransom, written by Evan Hunter under the pen name Ed McBain, the original High and Low watches as a shoe company executive becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom. It’s unclear how closely Lee’s film will hew to the original storyline, and there’s no word yet as to the role Hadera will play.
Developed and produced by A24, Escape Artists and Mandalay Pictures, Lee teamed in the writing of his latest with Alan Fox. Todd Black (Emancipation, The Equalizer films) is producing for Escape Artists, alongside Jason Michael Berman (Air, Nine Days) for Mandalay Pictures, with production to kick off this month.
Exec producers include Lee for 40 Acres And A Mule Filmworks, and Mandalay’s Peter Guber, as well as Juniper Productions’ Matthew Lindner, Chris Brigham, and Katia Washington. Mandalay’s Jordan Moldo is co-producing. A24 will release the film theatrically before its global launch on Apple TV+.
Currently playing Mayme Johnson, wife of Forest Whitaker’s crime boss Bumpy Johnson, on the critically acclaimed MGM+ drama Godfather of Harlem, which has been renewed for a fourth season, Hadera has also recently been seen starring opposite Aaron Eckhart in Renny Harlin’s action thriller The Bricklayer. Previously playing Dwayne Johnson’s love interest in Paramount’s reboot of Baywatch, the actress has also been featured in memorable roles on shows like Billions, Master of None, Show Me a Hero, and Deception, among others.
Hadera is repped by Gersh, Untitled Entertainment, and Lucy Popkin at Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.