Jesse Plemons Says Digger Is the Dr. Strangelove of Our Time—Here’s Why

If you've been wondering what Tom Cruise is going to do now that he's finally paused the endless sprinting and running from nuclear threats in the Mission: Impossible movies, the answer is... not what you'd expect. Instead of suiting up as Ethan Hunt again, Cruise is teaming up with Alejandro G. Iñárritu — you know, the guy behind Birdman (the unbroken take one, not Michael Keaton's comic book movie) and The Revenant (with Leo crawling through the snow). This time, they're working on a movie called Digger, which so far is sounding way stranger than you might have guessed.

What's the Deal with Digger?

Here’s what we know: Not much. Seriously, most of this movie is still under wraps. There's no official synopsis floating around — just a “brutal, wild comedy of catastrophic proportions” attached to it, which leaves plenty of room for speculation (and, let's be real, possible disasters).

Plot rumors have been whispering that Cruise might be playing some kind of 'most powerful global figure' who wants everyone to see him as a savior. No idea yet if he’s actually saving anyone or just causing chaos (maybe both — it's a comedy with world-ending stakes, apparently).

The Kubrick Connection

Here's the fun twist: Jesse Plemons (who’s also in the film) recently said in an interview that Digger brought to mind Dr. Strangelove. Yes, that one — Stanley Kubrick’s absolutely bonkers 1964 satire where some very questionable military leaders almost nuke the world, and Peter Sellers plays, well, pretty much everyone. According to Plemons, there are definite echoes of that kind of dark, tragic, dry-as-bone humor here.

The actual Dr. Strangelove (for the five people who haven't seen it) is about an unhinged US general who decides, “Hey, let’s start a nuclear war today,” prompting a bunch of politicians and a famously odd ex-Nazi scientist to scramble and avert disaster. Think Cold War paranoia, world-ending stakes, and people dealing with it by being as absurd as possible.

'It’s one of the strangest, funniest, most tragic scripts I’ve read. There’s a kind of modern-day Dr. Strangelove thing, and then it becomes something else entirely. Getting to see Tom just go for it — not in a death-defying action way but fully showing what an incredible actor he is — that was thrilling.'
– Jesse Plemons, talking to Variety

The Cast: Not Just Cruise

• Tom Cruise (obviously) — possibly not jumping off tall buildings for once
• Jesse Plemons (who’s worked with Cruise before on American Made)
• Sandra Hüller
• Riz Ahmed
• Emma D’Arcy
• Sophie Wilde
• Michael Stuhlbarg
• John Goodman

Why All the Awards Hype?

So it’s Alejandro G. Iñárritu in the director’s chair. If you know your Oscar trivia, that matters: he won Best Director twice in a row, for Birdman and The Revenant. Only two other people have pulled that off in Academy history. Some folks are already hoping this is the project that finally bags Cruise a real Best Actor win (not just the recent honorary one).

For now, all we know is Digger will hit theaters October 2, 2026. Until we get a trailer or at least a vague plot description beyond 'wild catastrophic comedy,' the best we can do is wait and wonder what kind of weirdness Iñárritu and Cruise have cooked up. At the very least, it's not another secret agent movie.