By Any Means is an upcoming American historical crime thriller film directed by Elegance Bratton and written by Sascha Penn. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Beharie, Josh Lucas, LisaGay Hamilton, LaChanze, Ethan Embry, David Strathairn, and Giancarlo Esposito.
By Any Means is scheduled to be released in the United States by Paramount Pictures on September 4, 2026.
Contents
Premise
A notorious mafia hitman and a young Black FBI agent team up to investigate the murders of civil rights leaders in Mississippi in 1966.
Cast
Mark Wahlberg as Gregory Scarpa, mafia hitman turned FBI informant
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Special FBI Agent Wayne Strider, loosely based on real life FBI agent Lindley DeVecchio
Nicole Beharie
Giancarlo Esposito as Vernon Dahmer
Josh Lucas
David Strathairn
Ethan Embry
LisaGay Hamilton
LaChanze
Stephen Bass
Production
The film is directed by Elegance Bratton and produced by Hammerstone Studios, Thunder Road Films, Freedom Principle, and North.Five.Six. It is based on the 2018 Black List script CI-34, from Sascha Penn and Theodore Witcher. Alex Lebovici is producing for Hammerstone Studios, alongside Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee for Thunder Road Films, Chester Algernal Gordon for Freedom Principle, Stephen Levinson, and Mark Wahlberg for the Closest to the Hole Production banner. Wahlberg also co-leads the cast, initially alongside Sterling K. Brown. In February 2025, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II joined the cast, replacing Brown, due to scheduling conflicts.
Principal photography began on April 15, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia, with Ante Cheng serving as the cinematographer. In April, Nicole Beharie, Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Lucas, David Strathairn, Ethan Embry, LisaGay Hamilton, and LaChanze joined the cast. In May, Bright White Light boarded the film. Filming wrapped on June 17, 2025.
Sascha Penn received sole writing credit for the film, with additional literary material (not on-screen) credited to Arash Amel, Elegance Bratton, Andrew Ferguson, and Theodore Witcher.
Release
In April 2026, Paramount Pictures acquired the U.S. distribution rights for By Any Means, with the studio setting a theatrical release date for September 4, 2026.