The full trailer for Digger has been released, showing off more of Tom Cruise‘s radical transformation. The actor’s recent movies have been focused on him as an action star, performing incredible stunts in the likes of the Mission: Impossible franchise and Top Gun: Maverick. Those death-defying antics have very much become his brand and a big draw for audiences, but his next movie promises to be something very different.
Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant), Digger stars Cruise as eccentric billionaire Digger Rockwell, with a pot belly, thinning white hair, and a Southern accent. Described as the world’s most powerful man, he causes a disaster that threatens to destroy everything, and that only he can now prevent. Check out the trailer below:
The footage gives us a better idea of the plot, as we see Rockwell, an oil baron, pushing ahead with dangerous plans that end up causing an ecological disaster, including a tsunami and nuclear waste. He’s dug himself into this hole, and now he’s the one who has to Digg himself out of it, too.
While we’ve had some glimpses of Digger before, I still wasn’t quite ready for this trailer, and can’t quite believe that’s Tom Cruise in the role. It’s a delight to see him so completely transform and lose himself in a performance again. For as great as he is as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell or Ethan Hunt, there’s always that feeling that you’re just watching Cruise, especially because of how much his doing his own stunts became a USP for those movies. Here, he’s unrecognizable in appearance, voice, and performance from what we’ve seen in recent years. Reactions on social media are impressed, including calling it “insane,” and that Cruise looks “incredible” and “coming for that Oscar.”
I’m so sat for digger that trailer was INSANE
"Glacier shifts 5ft, This Table in front of me is bigger than 5ft"
What have you achieved Inarritu 
#TomCruise looks INCREDIBLE#Diggerpic.twitter.com/4bGJw8DU56
Just watched the Digger trailer pic.twitter.com/ia1hPeARvz
oh he is coming for that Oscar he should’ve got for magnolia https://t.co/l4PvaD6ZZg
The rest of Digger‘s cast is stacked, including what looks like it’s going to be a scene-stealing performance from John Goodman as the U.S. President. Joining them are Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, Jesse Plemons, Emma D’Arcy, Michael Stuhlbarg, and more. Tonally, it looks rather unpredictable and hard to classify: there are certainly elements of a black comedy here, but it also leans into some surrealism as well, so while we know the broad plot mechanics, it is still fair to wonder what the hell is going on.
Whatever it is, though, it looks rather great. Innaritu has delivered before, and this is the kind of work from Cruise we’ve not seen in too long (the Magnolia mention above is an apt one). Cruise hasn’t been nominated for an acting Oscar since then, and he’s never won one.
There’s a focus on his legacy as part of WB’s marketing for the movie, and it is clear that’s a narrative that will be used during awards season as well. That combined with a transformative performance seems like a recipe for success: a nomination seems guaranteed at this early stage, and don’t be surprised if he ends up winning, too.
Digger will be released in theaters on October 2, 2026.
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