Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II star in the upcoming crime thriller "By Any Means," scheduled to open on Sept. 4, 2026 [1].

The film examines themes of justice and vengeance by dramatizing real-life murders from the civil-rights era. By pairing a federal agent with a criminal underworld figure, the narrative explores the moral compromises often required to achieve legal results in the Jim Crow South.

Set in the 1960s, the story follows a young Black FBI agent sent to Mississippi to investigate the killings of civil-rights leaders [2]. To navigate the investigation, the agent is forced to work alongside Greg Scarpa, a notorious mafia hitman portrayed by Wahlberg [3]. Some reports indicate the duo's primary mission is directed against the Ku Klux Klan [4].

Production for the film included filming locations in Atlanta, Georgia [5]. The project is based on true events, with Wahlberg undergoing a physical transformation to play the hitman. In discussing the project, Wahlberg said the crowd was "screaming and yelling ..." [6].

The film aims to depict the volatile intersection of federal law enforcement and organized crime during a period of intense racial violence. By focusing on the partnership between an FBI agent and a mobster, the movie highlights the systemic failures that left civil-rights leaders vulnerable to targeted attacks.

“the crowd was "screaming and yelling ..."”

The production of 'By Any Means' reflects a continuing trend in cinema to revisit the civil-rights era through the lens of the 'true crime' thriller. By centering the plot on an unlikely alliance between a federal officer and a mafia hitman, the film suggests that the legal systems of the 1960s were so compromised by racism that only extra-legal methods could secure a form of justice.