Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has been cast in By Any Means, an upcoming crime thriller directed by Elegance Bratton. He is bound to star alongside Mark Wahlberg in a film based on real events involving a mafia hitman working with the FBI to track down those behind the killings of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi.
The role was initially assigned to Sterling K. Brown who exited the project due to scheduling conflicts. The movie is based on C134, a screenplay by Sascha Penn and Theodor Witcher, which appeared on the Black List, an industry-recognized collection of unproduced scripts. Witcher completed multiple revisions, with Bratton also contributing to the development process.
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 Wahlberg under his closest to the Hole Production banner.
Executive producers are Jonathan Oakes for Hammerstone, Michael Rothstein, Samuel Hall, and Warren Goz for North.Five.Six., Adam Kolbrenner, Sascha Penn, Waylen Lin, Zach Zhang, and Logan Coles. WME Independent and CAA Media Finance co-represent U.S. rights.
Abdul-Mateen II is just coming off of production on Marvel’s miniseries Wonder Man, expected to launch on Disney+ this December, where he plays the title role, as well as Netflix’s series Man on Fire, based on the books by A.J. Quinnell.
An Emmy winner for his work on HBO’s Watchmen, Abdul-Mateen II broke out with his work there, and in such projects as Aaroon Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, a pair of Aquaman films, and The Greatest Showman. He is represented by M88, WME, Johnson Shapiro Slewett and Kole.
The project does not yet have an official release date, and it also remains unclear when it plans to start filming. Bratton made his directorial debut in 2019 on Pier Kids, and he followed that up a couple of years later with The Inspection, the 2022 R-rated drama starring Jeremy Pope and Gabrielle Union alongside Raul Castillo that’s streaming on Paramount+.
Bratton, recognized for The Inspection, directs a story that merges crime, history, and law enforcement. Wahlberg, a longtime presence in action and crime films, continues his involvement in the genre with this role. For now we await production schedules and additional casting details for the eagerly anticipated project in the film industry.
