Tom Cruise Stuns in First Look at Alejandro Iñárritu’s Digger

Tom Cruise just dropped a teaser for his next thing with Alejandro Inarritu, and it is not what I expected. The movie is officially called 'Digger,' it looks proudly unhinged, and Cruise appears to be playing the kind of guy you cross the street to avoid. In other words: yes, I am paying attention.

So what is 'Digger'?

The setup, per Deadline: the story follows the most powerful figure on the planet, a man trying to sell the world on the idea that he is its savior, and in the process he ends up wrecking, well, everything. It is being pitched as a comedy of catastrophic proportions, which is a fancy way of saying it wants to make you laugh while the building collapses around you.

The teaser: shovel disco and a new Cruise

Cruise posted the first teaser on December 18, 2025 with a simple, very Tom Cruise caption: 'Let's f***ing go!' and a tag that it is only in theaters October 2026. The footage shows him disheveled, dancing with a shovel like it owes him money. You do not get a clean look at who he is playing, but the silhouette and body language scream total makeover. Think less Ethan Hunt, more full-character swing.

Cruise, back to comedy (yes, he has done this before)

After a decade-plus of living in the Mission: Impossible trenches as the planet's most committed action star, Cruise is detouring back into comedy. Easy to forget: his first big pop in Hollywood was the teen comedy 'Risky Business.' And if you have seen 'Tropic Thunder,' you know the man can vanish into something deranged when he wants to. The vibe here hints at another larger-than-life, possibly sleazy creation, closer to a Les Grossman-style transformation than a movie-star vanity play.

Inarritu is clearly amused

Alejandro Inarritu is not exactly Mr. Ha-Ha on paper, which is part of why this pairing is so intriguing. He has worked with the best, and he is over the moon about what Cruise is doing here:

No, the thing that I can tell you. This is a wild comedy of catastrophic proportions. It's insane. He makes me laugh every day. The range that I discovered working with Tom is unprecedented for me as a director. I was so fu*king impressed and happy.

Why this could be a big deal

• Premise: a self-anointed world savior who becomes the problem is ripe for dark, timely comedy.
• Cruise factor: the teaser points to a full-on physical and tonal shift, not just Tom Cruise Doing Tom Cruise.
• Director track record: Inarritu is the filmmaker who finally delivered Leonardo DiCaprio his Oscar with 'The Revenant.' If this lands, do not be shocked if people start saying the O-word around Cruise.

Release timing

'Digger' is set to open exclusively in theaters in October 2026.