Paramount Unleashes First Trailer for Crime Thriller ‘By Any Means

‘The Grim Reaper and the Agent’: Paramount Unleashes Gritty First Trailer for 1960s Crime Thriller ‘By Any Means’

LONDON — Paramount Pictures has officially dropped the explosive first trailer for By Any Means, a gripping, 1960s-set historical crime thriller that pairs an unrecognizable Mark Wahlberg with Marvel’s Wonder Man breakout star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (trailer below).

Directed by rising auteur Elegance Bratton (The Inspection), the film tells the extraordinary, highly volatile true story of an unorthodox alliance forged between the FBI and the American Mafia during the height of the Civil Rights movement.

The two-minute trailer offers a visceral look at a dark chapter in American history, transforming what could have been a standard period drama into a high-octane, bone-crunching tactical thriller that is already generating significant buzz ahead of the autumn box-office race.

The Unlikely Alliance

Set in 1966, the trailer introduces Wayne Strider (Abdul-Mateen II), a sharp, principled young Black FBI agent dispatched to the deeply hostile territory of Mississippi. Tasked with investigating a wave of brutal, unsolved murders targeting prominent civil rights activists, Strider finds his inquiry completely stonewalled by institutional racism, corrupt local police, and the terrifying shadow of the Ku Klux Klan.

With the local system entirely compromised and traditional legal avenues blocked, the federal government makes a radical, morally grey gamble: they recruit notorious Colombo crime family hitman Gregory Scarpa (Wahlberg) straight out of New York.

Wahlberg undergoes a staggering physical transformation to portray the real-life mob enforcer, shedding his traditional, clean-cut Hollywood aesthetic. Sporting a significantly altered build, vintage 1960s styling, and a terrifyingly cold demeanor, the actor leans heavily into the dark reality of a man who earned the grim underworld moniker "The Grim Reaper".

The trailer highlights the intense friction between the two leads, perfectly encapsulated by a tense confrontation in a rain-slicked southern backroad:

“You’re here to badges-and-book ’em, kid,” Wahlberg’s Scarpa growls over footage of a brutal interrogation. “I’m here to do what the government doesn't have the stomach for. We win by any means necessary.”

A Muscular Studio Return

The trailer firmly establishes By Any Means as a muscular, adult-oriented thriller rather than a passive history lesson. While Agent Strider attempts to uphold constitutional law, Scarpa uses his status as an intimidating white mob figure to tear through the local Klansmen’s hierarchy, culminating in a barrage of high-stakes gunfights, tactical ambushes, and severe psychological warfare.

The project represents a massive creative swing for Wahlberg, who also serves as a primary producer under his Closest to the Hole banner alongside Basil Iwanyk’s Thunder Road (John Wick).

For Abdul-Mateen II, the film serves as his definitive coronation as a cinematic leading man. The Emmy-winning actor is currently riding an unprecedented wave of global momentum following his critically acclaimed turn as Simon Williams in Marvel Television’s streaming juggernaut Wonder Man, which was recently renewed for a historic second season.

By Any Means Production Architecture

The Verdict

By blending the claustrophobic, slow-burn tension of historical racism with the unhinged, high-velocity energy of a modern crime epic, Bratton looks poised to deliver an absolute powerhouse of a film. The chemistry between Abdul-Mateen's rigid, moral stoicism and Wahlberg's unpredictable, sociopathic intensity jumps off the screen.

With Paramount backing the film as a major theatrical priority for the autumn awards window, By Any Means is tracking to be one of the most intense, conversation-starting adult dramas of the year. The heavy, moisture-laden atmosphere of 1960s Mississippi officially hits cinemas across the UK and North America on Friday 4th September 2026.