Okay, so if you’ve been seeing summer blockbusters and/or you’re into movie trailers, then you probably saw the teaser trailer for Tom Cruise’s upcoming film “Digger.” The teaser for the “comedy of catastrophic proportions” began with two minutes and 26 seconds of a Tom Cruise demo reel.
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The teaser-trailer also starts with a list of his IMDb credits.
Once you make it through, you get about thirty seconds of a man dancing with a shovel (that man is played by Cruise).
And for two weeks, we’ve just had to sit with that on our hearts.
If you haven’t seen it, do it. Do it now.
DIGGER Teaser Trailer (2026) Tom Cruise, Alejandro G. Iñárritu
But don’t fret. Warner Brothers has given us the official trailer. I still don’t know why the teaser began with the Tom Cruise greatest hits? Maybe so people will publish sophisticated talk pieces like this one. And now I have fallen into their trap.
In any case, “Digger” is the latest project from Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (“Birdman,” “The Revenant”), who co-wrote the film with Sabina Berman, a Mexican writer and journalist whose credits include foreign pieces like “Backyard” and “Gloria;” Alexander Dinelaris Jr. (co-writer of “Birdman” and “The Revenant”); and Nicolás Giacobone (also a co-writer of “Birdman”).
An official tagline for the film goes thusly:
“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.”
Cruise, who has a reputation for being extremely devoted to his craft (and not a little bit extra), said multiple times that “Digger” is the culmination of his 40-year career. I still don’t see how, but maybe this gives a little more indication as to the clips in the trailer; can you tell I’m fixated on that? The cost to release the rights to them… I just don’t understand.
DIGGER | Official Trailer
Cruise also shared at a trailer launch event on the Warner Bros. lot that he asked Iñárritu to read the script aloud to him, something that he has done with multiple directors.
“Alejandro took several days during which he was just reading the script to me and 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,” the actor said.
Which is actually not a terrible way to go about committing your time and energy to a creative project. I’m just saying this as someone who has worked with people who helped me see where Hollywood’s term “creative differences” comes from. And “Digger” is certainly a big swing. It feels like a frat party where his character from “Tropic Thunder” and the characters from “The Social Network” do keg stands together.
I kind of do mean that in a good way, though.
Look, Iñárritu knows how to make a masterful and undeniably unique film. Cruise goes balls-to-the-wall on his projects—and it pays off. “Edge of Tomorrow” and “Tom Gun: Maverick” are two of my favorite films. The “Mission Impossible” film franchise created hit after hit for nearly two decades and Cruise leveled up his stunts the entire time. “Top Gun.” “A Few Good Men.” “Interview with the Vampire.” “Jerry Maguire.” The man is iconic and dammit now I sound just like the teaser trailer.
Whatever is in store for us with “Digger,” the marketing team is having fun setting us up for it.
Even Time posted a cover featuring “Titan of the Year Digger Rockwell”
Also, while we’re here, can we talk about the 66 accounts Tom Cruise is following on Instagram? He follows people he’s worked with, like Val Kilmer, Rebecca Ferguson, and Dakota Fanning; companies he’s worked for like Universal Pictures and Disney; the USS Midway; and then Wimbledon? He just never ceases to amuse me! Hey Tom! Follow me next.
“Digger” also features a great cast, including John Goodman (“Roseanne”), Sandra Hüller (“Project Hail Mary”), Emma D’Arcy (“House of the Dragon”), Jesse Plemons (“Vice,” “Breaking Bad”), and many more.
The film will hit theaters on Oct. 2, 2026. Dig or die.
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