Tom Cruise Is Almost Unrecognizable in the First Trailer for Digger

Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “comedy of catastrophic proportions” arrives exclusively in theatres this October.

Tom Cruise has spent decades saving the world on screen. In Digger, he may be the reason it needs saving in the first place.

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s new film, revealing Cruise as Digger Rockwell, a powerful oil baron caught at the centre of a rapidly escalating global crisis. The official premise follows “the most powerful man in the world” as he races to prove he is humanity’s saviour before the disaster he unleashed destroys everything.

Cruise is nearly unrecognizable in the role. With grey hair, prosthetics and a dramatically altered physical appearance, the actor disappears into a character far removed from the controlled action heroes that have defined much of his recent career.

The trailer introduces Digger as an eccentric and unpredictable figure whose company may have triggered an ecological catastrophe. The potential fallout is estimated at $18 trillion, but Digger remains convinced that he is the only person capable of fixing the situation. What follows is a chaotic mix of international panic, corporate damage control and Digger’s relentless attempt to take charge of the narrative.

Described by Warner Bros. as “a comedy of catastrophic proportions,” the film appears to give Cruise room to embrace a stranger and more openly comedic character than audiences are used to seeing from him. It also marks his first major non-franchise role since American Made in 2017.

Digger is directed by Iñárritu, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker behind Birdman, The Revenant and Babel. He co-wrote the screenplay with Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone and Sabina Berman. The film was shot entirely in VistaVision.

Cruise leads an ensemble cast that includes Sandra Hüller, Jesse Plemons, Riz Ahmed, Sophie Wilde, Emma D’Arcy, Michael Stuhlbarg and John Goodman.

The first trailer offers only a glimpse of how far Digger’s actions have pushed the world toward disaster, but it makes one thing clear: Cruise is taking a sharp turn away from Ethan Hunt and Pete “Maverick” Mitchell for one of the most unusual roles of his career.

Digger arrives exclusively in theatres on October 2, 2026.