Tom Cruise reveals Digger: billionaire comedy hits Oct. 2
Tom Cruise stars as eccentric billionaire Digger Rockwell in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's absurdist comedy Digger, due in theaters October 2, 2026. After years of secrecy, Cruise previewed the trailer and discussed his prosthetic-heavy transformation, the film's eco-disaster plot, and a collaboration years in the making. The Warner Bros. release is billed as "a comedy of catastrophic proportions," centering on wealth, power, and a planet-sized mess.
Key Takeaways
- Tom Cruise plays oil tycoon Digger Rockwell, a larger-than-life billionaire facing an eco-disaster he may have caused.
- Alejandro G. Iñárritu directs; the first trailer and a Warner Bros. lot Q&A lifted the secrecy veil.
- Cruise transformed with makeup, prosthetics, and a Southern accent for a role unlike his recent franchise work.
- Cast includes Riz Ahmed, Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Jesse Plemons, and Michael Stuhlbarg.
- Digger opens in cinemas on October 2, 2026.
What is Tom Cruise's new movie Digger about?
According to Variety, Cruise's Digger Rockwell is "the most powerful man in the world," a billionaire whose company may have sparked an ecological disaster that could also tip into nuclear crisis. The logline follows his frantic mission to cast himself as humanity's savior before the catastrophe he unleashed destroys everything.
Empire reports the storyline invites comparisons with Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove: an oil man tasked with averting a global environmental catastrophe that he seems to have started with "a frack too far." In the trailer, Digger shrugs off a Greenland glacier shifting five feet while fretting over his aging white cat—and over shutting down a "billion-dollar platform."
John Goodman plays an ailing U.S. president who insists Digger fix the mess, even as talk turns to an $18 trillion cleanup and a missile aimed at the iceberg. For more celebrity fortune and power coverage, see BlasterPost's Net Worth & Wealth section.
How did Tom Cruise prepare for the Digger role?
Cruise told press he spent several days listening as Iñárritu read him the script aloud—a method he has used with other directors—to absorb the filmmaker's vision before contributing. Iñárritu pitched the idea about seven years ago; Cruise has admired the director since seeing Amores Perros in 2001.
Under makeup and what Empire describes as a fat suit, Cruise plays an old-school Texan who looks little like his Maverick or Mission: Impossible persona. "I have never had something that could challenge me in this way, and neither has Alejandro," he said. He called locking into the character's look, voice, and teeth essential.
Who else stars in Digger, and when does it open?
The ensemble includes Riz Ahmed, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, and Emma D'Arcy. Goodman's befuddled president evokes Coen brothers vibes in Empire's read of the trailer.
Shot in the U.K. over six months on VistaVision with cinematographer Emmanuel "Chivo" Lubezki, the Legendary Pictures production is Iñárritu's first English-language film since The Revenant. Iñárritu was finishing the sound mix in London as Cruise unveiled the trailer. Digger arrives only in theaters October 2, 2026.