'Digger' trailer: Tom Cruise transforms for Iñárritu comedy
DIRECT ANSWER: Warner Bros. released the full Digger trailer on July 13, 2026, unveiling Tom Cruise as transformed oil tycoon Digger Rockwell in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's absurdist black comedy. Cruise plays an eccentric billionaire whose company may have triggered a global ecological disaster—and possibly nuclear escalation—before racing to prove he can save humanity. The film opens in theaters Oct. 2.
Tom Cruise had to dig deep for his latest starring role—pun intended. At a Warner Bros. presentation in Los Angeles ahead of the trailer launch, the actor said the part challenged him in ways nothing else has, adding that director Alejandro González Iñárritu faced a similarly daunting creative test.
Key Takeaways
- Warner Bros. dropped the full Digger trailer on July 13 after Cruise previewed footage for press, critics, and fans on the studio lot.
- Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, an oil baron described as the most powerful man in the world, in a film billed as a comedy of catastrophic proportions.
- Iñárritu's ensemble includes John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Jesse Plemons, Riz Ahmed, Emma D'Arcy, and others; the movie opens in theaters Oct. 2, 2026.
- The collaboration followed roughly seven years of talks after Iñárritu first pitched Cruise the idea; production shot in the U.K. for six months.
What happens in the 'Digger' trailer?
Described as a black comedy and Iñárritu's first English-language film since The Revenant, Digger follows Cruise's Digger Rockwell on what Warner Bros. calls a frantic mission to prove he is humanity's savior. His company may have set off an ecological disaster that could also spark nuclear war.
In the trailer and earlier footage, Cruise is barely recognizable: thick Southern accent, pot belly, thinning white hair in an unconvincing combover. John Goodman's ailing U.S. president urges Rockwell to fix the mess. According to Variety, the film leans absurdist and comedic even as the stakes turn catastrophic.
Who stars alongside Tom Cruise in 'Digger'?
Beyond Goodman as the president, the cast includes Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, Riz Ahmed, and Emma D'Arcy. Emmanuel Lubezki shot the Legendary Pictures production in VistaVision during a six-month U.K. shoot.
Iñárritu was still in the U.K. finishing the sound mix and appeared only via video message at the trailer event. He called the project absurd, dangerous, and comedic—arguing that tragedy often fuels great comedy. For more on upcoming film and streaming drops, see our Streaming & TV Alerts coverage.
How did Cruise and Iñárritu finally team up?
Cruise has admired Iñárritu since an early screening of 2000's Amores Perros, calling it brilliant and praising the filmmaker's staging, camera work, and performances. For years he showed the film to friends before the two met and, about seven years ago, Iñárritu pitched Digger.
Rather than send a finished script, Iñárritu spent days reading his co-written screenplay aloud to Cruise. The script was penned in 2023 with Birdman collaborators Nicolas Giacobone and Alexander Dinelaris plus Sabina Berman. Cruise called the process beautiful and said standing on the creative cliff together was exactly the kind of risk he wanted.
When does 'Digger' open in theaters?
Digger opens exclusively in theaters on Oct. 2, 2026. It marks Cruise's first Warner Bros. film since signing a theatrical development deal in January 2024 and his first non-franchise lead since 2017's American Made, following multiple Mission: Impossible installments and Top Gun: Maverick.
At the event, Cruise reflected on a 46-year career—from early sets like Taps and watching Martin Scorsese direct on The Color of Money—and said Digger represents the accumulation of everything he has absorbed from master filmmakers along the way.