Tom Cruise’s Digger: Inside the High-Stakes Thriller Everyone Will Be Talking About — Cast, Plot, Release Date

Tom Cruise is taking a hard left turn with 'Digger' — a black comedy from Alejandro G. Iñárritu. Yes, Cruise plus the Birdman/Revenant director. No, it is not another stunt reel. It is weirder, riskier, and frankly a lot more intriguing than I expected.

So, what is 'Digger'?

Plot-wise, the studio is keeping it locked up, but Warner Bros. did share a one-line tease that absolutely sounds like Cruise is playing someone with serious power and a mess of his own making.

'The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity's savior before the disaster he's unleashed destroys everything'

It is officially a black comedy. The title announcement video doubles down on the offbeat vibe: Cruise in cowboy boots, hauling a shovel, goofing around with it, then climbing rooftop railings and toeing the edge. Not your standard IMF briefing.

Who is making it?

Alejandro G. Iñárritu is directing and co-writing with Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone, and Sabina Berman. Legendary Pictures is producing.

When is it coming out?

Production kicked off in the U.K. in late 2024 (around October/November) and wrapped in May 2025. 'Digger' is scheduled to hit U.S. theaters on October 2, 2026 — prime spooky-season real estate.

The cast (stacked):

• Tom Cruise
• Jesse Plemons (recently worked on 'Bugonia' with Emma Stone)
• Sandra Hüller ('Toni Erdmann', 'Sisi & I')
• Riz Ahmed ('The Night Of', 'Relay', 'Venom')
• John Goodman ('Flight', 'Argo')
• Michael Stuhlbarg ('Doctor Strange')
• Sophie Wilde ('Talk to Me', 'Boy Swallows Universe')
• Emma D'Arcy ('House of the Dragon')
• Robert John Burke ('Intrusion')
• Burn Gorman ('Beetlejuice 2')
• Pip Torrens ('Star Wars: The Force Awakens')

Why I’m paying attention

Iñárritu is not exactly a 'play it safe' guy. He won back-to-back Oscars for directing 'Birdman' and 'The Revenant', and now he is calling this one a wild swing. His tease from Cannes pretty much sells the tone and his take on Cruise:

'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 f**king impressed and happy'

Cruise stepping into an Iñárritu black comedy as a possibly world-shaping figure? That is a curveball. Add the eccentric title-reveal imagery and a killer ensemble, and 'Digger' suddenly looks like one of 2026's must-watches.

'Digger' opens October 2, 2026 (USA).