Director Spike Lee has walked back his declaration that Highest 2 Lowest will be his last collaboration with Denzel Washington. During a press conference for the movie at the Cannes Film Festival in May, the Do the Right Thing director revealed that Highest 2 Lowest, their fifth collaboration, would probably be their last. However, when asked about the comment at the film's New York premiere on Monday, Lee walked back his remark and kept the door open for future collaborations. "I said that before, but I got my mind right," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I'm open to work with Denzel Washington and this not be the last film of the dynamic duo, D and Lee." Before Highest 2 Lowest, Lee and Washington previously worked together on Mo' Better Blues, Malcolm X, He Got Game and Inside Man, which came out almost 20 years ago. During the press conference, Lee stated, "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." In their new neo-noir crime thriller, an English-language reimagining of the Japanese film High and Low, Washington plays a music mogul who becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake. Lee explained to the publication that the Training Day actor brought his attention to the project. "(He) had gotten the property and he sent it to me; he said, 'Spike read the script. If you like, let's go.' I read it right away, called him up, I think the next day and said, 'Let's go.' It happened like that," he shared. Highest 2 Lowest, also starring Jeffrey Wright and A$AP Rocky, will be released on Apple TV+ on 5 September after a limited theatrical run.