'Digger' Trailer: Tom Cruise Stars in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Eco-Disaster Black Comedy
Tom Cruise is taking on one of the most unconventional roles of his career in "Digger," the latest film from two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu.
Tom Cruise stars as billionaire Digger Rockwell in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s black comedy about an ecological disaster.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Cruise described the experience of making the film as unlike anything he has done before.
“I have never had something that could challenge me in this way, and neither has Alejandro,” Cruise said, about starring in “Digger,” the black comedy from two-time Academy Award-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu.
Warner Bros. describes "Digger" as "a comedy of catastrophic proportions." The film marks Iñárritu's first English-language feature since "The Revenant."
Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an oil baron referred to as "the most powerful man in the world." Sporting a thick Southern accent, a pot belly and thinning white hair styled in an unconvincing combover, his character finds himself at the center of a global crisis after his company may have triggered an ecological disaster capable of leading to nuclear war.
According to the film's logline, Digger "embarks on a frantic mission to prove that he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything."
The cast also features John Goodman as an ailing U.S. president urging Digger to resolve the crisis. Joining him are Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, Riz Ahmed, and Emma D'Arcy.
Ahead of the trailer's release, Cruise presented the first footage to members of the press, film critics and fans during a special event held at the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles.
Although this is the first collaboration between Cruise and Iñárritu, Cruise revealed he has admired the filmmaker's work since watching an early screening of "Amores Perros," Iñárritu's 2000 feature debut.
“What a brilliant film. It was amazing,” Cruise said about the crime thriller. “I was one of the first audiences, and I heard about it early on, so when I saw that film, I don’t know how you all felt, but I was like, ‘What the fuck? This guy!'”
Cruise explained that Iñárritu's filmmaking abilities stood out from the beginning of his career.
“I’m seeing the details of this filmmaker, what he conquered very early on here, and I’m going, ‘How?’ The staging. Chivo [ Iñárritu’s longtime collaborator, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki], and what they’re doing with the camera. The performances. The design. The color in the movie. Every aspect of that film was very thought out, very detailed, and you could feel the powerful human voice of someone who was incredibly skilled at what they were doing.”
For years, Cruise introduced friends to Iñárritu's work, but the pair did not meet until much later. About seven years ago, the director finally presented Cruise with the concept for "Digger."
Rather than simply sending a completed screenplay—co-written in 2023 with the "Birdman" writing team of Nicolas Giacobone and Alexander Dinelaris alongside Sabina Berman—Iñárritu spent several days personally reading the script aloud to Cruise.
Reflecting on that process, Cruise said:
“I’m listening to everything that’s in his mind, so that I can understand that, and then I know how to contribute to it, and bring that collaboration together,” Cruise recalled. “It was beautiful.”
Cruise immediately embraced the opportunity.
“There’s nothing better than to physically and metaphorically stand on the edge of a cliff and go, ‘Let’s do this. And I trust you, and whatever we’re going to do, I know this is going to be a hell of an experience,'” he said.
Produced by Legendary Pictures, "Digger" was filmed over six months in the U.K. with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki using VistaVision. While Iñárritu was unable to attend the trailer presentation because he remained in the U.K. completing the film's sound mix, he shared a video message explaining the project's origins.
“It was just after ‘The Revenant,’ when I had an idea. Not a script, not a film, just a relentless, recurring obsession that has endured through all these wild years. I knew who this character was,” Iñárritu said in the clip. “I knew how he spoke, how he survived, how he seduced reality into agreeing with him. But it took me 10 years to do this film, because I wasn’t looking for a story. I was looking for the right way of saying it. And it’s absurd, it’s dangerous, but certainly comedic, because the source of great comedy is tragedy.
“People often ask me why I chose Tom to play Digger. To me, that’s like asking somebody why you drink water when you are thirsty? Because it’s what you need,”
"Digger" is Cruise's first Warner Bros. film since signing a theatrical development and production agreement with the studio in January 2024. His previous Warner Bros. release was "Edge of Tomorrow" in 2014, and he most recently appeared in "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning."
During the presentation, Cruise reflected on his 46-year career, explaining that his performance in "Digger" reflects decades of learning from acclaimed filmmakers.
“I’m so grateful. It’s kind of amazing to be here at this age,” Cruise said, acknowledging the lessons he “absorbed” from the master filmmakers he’s worked with over time, beginning with his earliest experiences on set, like watching Martin Scorsese direct Paul Newman on 1986’s “The Color of Money” or one of his first films, 1981’s “Taps.”
He concluded by reflecting on how those early experiences shaped his career.
“I think back to that kid on the set looking into different departments, and those people that were gracious enough to be able to share that knowledge,” Cruise said. “I was like, ‘I know I don’t understand it now. One day, I will understand it more,’ and I did. … I recognize how fortunate I was, just absorbing it.”
"Digger" opens in theaters on Oct. 2.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
