Alejandro G Iñárritu’s ‘Digger’ starring Tom Cruise sets release date in explosive first trailer
Tom Cruise has shared the first official trailer for Alejandro G Iñárritu’s ‘Digger,’ and he looks unrecognizable. The footage introduces Cruise as Digger Rockwell, an oil magnate whose company is linked to a crisis that could place the world at risk. Cruise appears with thinning white hair, a pot belly, and a thick Southern accent, marking a shift from his recent work in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise and the ‘Top Gun’ films. The trailer places Digger at the center of an effort to contain the damage before it escalates into an ecological catastrophe and the threat of nuclear war.
The film is billed as “a comedy of catastrophic proportions” and follows Digger as he tries to present himself as the person who can solve the disaster linked to his company. The trailer shows him dismissing warnings after his company's product is linked to a glacier in Greenland shifting. John Goodman appears as the US president and tells Digger that he must help fix the situation, which could reportedly cost $18 trillion. The footage then moves through missile launches, public appearances, and arguments as Digger tries to control both the crisis and the story surrounding it.
Cruise discussed the role during a trailer event held on the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles before the footage was released online. In comments reported by The Hollywood Reporter, he said, “I have never had something that could challenge me in this way and neither has Alejandro when we went in, ever. And when you see this film, it’s totally original.” Cruise also explained that Iñárritu spent several days reading the script aloud to him so he could understand the director’s ideas and decide how to contribute to the character. He said the process helped establish their collaboration before filming began.
Iñárritu began developing the idea after completing ‘The Revenant’ and later approached Cruise about playing Digger. The filmmaker said in a video shown at the event that the actor’s transformation was “astonishing.” Cruise also said during the Warner Bros. trailer event that it had taken him 40 years to become Digger Rockwell, connecting the performance to everything he had learned across decades of acting. The role also brings him back to the type of physical transformation he used to portray Les Grossman in ‘Tropic Thunder,’ although Digger is built around another character and story.
The 64-year-old leads a cast that includes Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, Sophie Wilde, Emma D’Arcy, Burn Gorman, Robert John Burke, Michael Stuhlbarg, and John Goodman. Plemons previously worked with Cruise on ‘American Made,’ while Ahmed has spoken about the actor’s approach during rehearsals. The film was shot in the UK over six months, with Emmanuel Lubezki serving as cinematographer. Iñárritu co-wrote the screenplay with Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Sabina Berman.
‘Digger’ is Cruise’s first non-franchise movie since 2017’s ‘American Made,’ following a run centered on ‘Mission: Impossible’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’ The film gives Cruise a character-focused role rather than another performance built around large-scale stunts. It marks Cruise's first Warner Bros. film since 2014's 'Edge of Tomorrow,' following his deal with the studio to develop and produce theatrical projects. Warner Bros. will release ‘Digger’ only in theaters on October 2, with the story following the consequences of a business decision that Rockwell believes only he can reverse.
