Now that Tom Cruise’s stint in the Mission: Impossible franchise has seemingly come to an end, the action star is ready for his next project.
On X, Cruise shared his next movie with Alejandro G. Iñárritu, which is revealed to be called Digger. The tagline is that it’s a “comedy of catastrophic proportions” and is set for release in October 2026. The film’s poster shows its title forming what is supposed to be Cruise’s character in the movie, holding a shovel and wearing cowboy boots on an orange background, Saul Bass style.
Just minutes later, Warner Bros. shared an official teaser. Check it below:
While holding a shovel, Cruise is seen dancing extravagantly, as he has previously done in films such as Risky Business or Tropic Thunder. Then, the Top Gun star is seen standing and walking on a pier railing. Again, Cruise appears to do so while dancing.
The movie’s plot has been kept secret up to this point, but it’s clear that Cruise is playing the titular character, Digger Rockwell. The upcoming comedy also stars John Goodman, Riz Ahmed, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma D’Arcy, Sophie Wilde, Sandra Hüller, and Jesse Plemons. The film was co-written by Iñárritu, former Birdman writers Alexander Dinelaris and Nicolás Giacobone, and Sabina Berman.
Before the reveal, Cruise shared a 2024 rehearsal set photo alongside Iñárritu. He expressed being deeply moved by working alongside the Academy Award-winning director, who handed him an Honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in November. Cruise also mentioned being a long-time fan of Iñárritu, saying that he watched Amores Perros 25 years ago.
Tom Cruise standing on a railing in Digger
Iñárritu, known for films such as 21 Grams ​​​​​​and Biutiful, spoke highly of Cruise in an October interview. He called his on-set relationship with Cruise “amazing” and “sweet,” and praised the actor’s passion and integrity. Iñárritu added that Cruise’s role in Digger “will surprise the world.”
Talking about the movie itself, the critically acclaimed director called it a “new kind of thing,” adding that it is a challenging “wild comedy.”
Shot in the United Kingdom in 2024 and early 2025, Digger is Iñárritu’s first English-language movie since The Revenant, the 2015 film that won Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. His last film was Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, released on Netflix in 2022.