After years spent deep in the franchise machine, and with “Mission: Impossible” seemingly behind him, Tom Cruise finally appears ready to get back to something resembling acting. “Digger” marks Cruise’s return to non-franchise territory, pairing him with Oscar-winning “Birdman,” “The Revenant,” and “Babel” filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu for one of the most unexpected pivots in years.
Directed by Iñárritu for Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, “Digger” is set for theatrical release on October 2, 2026, with Warner Bros. clearly positioning it as both an Oscar player and a big-screen event movie.
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For Cruise, this is a real left turn after a decade dominated by tentpoles. It’s his first major role outside the “Mission: Impossible”/“Top Gun” axis since “American Made” and “The Mummy,” following years of almost nothing but Ethan Hunt death wishes and “Top Gun: Maverick” on his résumé. For Iñárritu, it’s his first English-language feature since “The Revenant” and his last major awards run with “Birdman,” only now the apocalyptic energy is pointed straight at black comedy. He has already described the film as “a brutal, wild comedy of catastrophic proportions” that is “scary and funny and beautiful,” the kind of project he says unnerved him precisely because no one expects this lane from either him or Cruise.
The official logline fills in the blanks. Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, “the most powerful man in the world,” who launches into a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he has unleashed destroys everything. In other words, after years of Cruise saving the world through speed, stunts, motorcycles, jets, and impossible missions, “Digger” appears to be asking what happens when that savior complex curdles into something closer to megalomania.
Iñárritu has assembled an ensemble of terminally interesting faces. Alongside Cruise are Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Riz Ahmed, Sophie Wilde, Emma D’Arcy, Robert John Burke, and Burn Gorman, with several roles still under wraps. How they all fit into Digger Rockwell’s orbit remains unclear, but the casting suggests a mix of political consiglieri, corporate hangers-on, and unlucky civilians trapped in the blast radius of one man’s ego.
Behind the camera, Iñárritu co-wrote the script with Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Nicolás Giacobone, reuniting part of the “Birdman” brain trust, with Emmanuel Lubezki shooting on 35mm VistaVision. The film is produced by Iñárritu, Cruise, and Mary Parent through TC Productions, M Productions, and Legendary.
What “Digger” really promises is a fascinating collision of sensibilities: Iñárritu breaking out of expectations, Cruise stepping into his first big non-action vehicle in years, and a premise that seems to turn the movie star’s world-saving mythology inside out. “Digger” hits theaters, including IMAX screens, on October 2, 2026, promising a film where the end of the world might be less terrifying than the guy convinced he is the only one who can fix it.
Watch the first official trailer below.
Digg. Or Die. DIGGER. Only in theaters October 2. pic.twitter.com/jDCOyl8bXU
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) July 13, 2026
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2007. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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