While Tom Cruise’s next movie can end a streak that has lasted almost three decades, this doesn’t mean that the dramedy is without its risks. For a lot of younger readers, the phrase Tom Cruise movies might feel synonymous with blockbuster action hits. Indeed, all the star’s biggest recent outings, from the Mission: Impossible movies to 2022’s long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick, fit this description. Since as far back as 2012’s Jack Reacher, all of Cruise’s hits and misses alike, from The Mummy to Oblivion to American Made to Edge of Tomorrow, could aptly be described as action movies.
However, 2026’s upcoming satirical comedy Digger is set to change this lengthy trend. Produced by Cruise and directed by The Revenant’s Alejandro González Iñárritu, Digger is a black comedy starring Cruise, Jesse Plemons, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sophie Wilde, and Sandra Hüller. Not a lot is known about the $125 million beyond its sparse synopsis, which claims that Digger tells the story of the world’s most powerful man trying to prove that he can save humanity before a disaster that he inadvertently caused ruins the world. This apocalyptic scale seemingly justifies the movie’s big price tag.
Digger Could Get Tom Cruise His First Oscar Nomination Since 2000
However, Digger will not be an action movie by any means. Instead, like Iñárritu’s earlier 2014 Oscar winner BIRDMAN or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Digger seems set to be a comedic, satirical character drama about a flawed, privileged protagonist coming to terms with their legacy. The fact that Goodman plays the President of the US and Ahmed plays his aide implies that Digger will have a story told on a global scale, but the movie’s focus is squarely on Cruise’s main character despite its ambition.
As such, Digger could net Tom Cruise his first Oscar nomination since 2000, when he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his scene-stealing turn in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia. While Cruise did receive a Best Picture nomination in 2022 for Top Gun: Maverick, his performance in the sequel wasn’t awarded with an acting nomination. Before Magnolia, Cruise received Best Actor nods for Jerry Maguire and Born on the Fourth of July in 1997 and 1990, respectively, but the actor won neither. As such, Digger would even mark his first win in a career that spans five decades.
Digger’s Big Budget Black Comedy Can Reintroduce Tom Cruise’s Dramatic Side
Digger is a thrilling chance for an entire new generation of viewers to meet Tom Cruise, the credible dramatic actor, after the star spent years leaning into his action hero persona. The Mission: Impossible series alone proves that Cruise certainly excels as an action star, but his heartbreaking turn in director Oliver Stone’s righteous biopic Born on the Fourth of July is a striking reminder of his potential as a dramatic performer.
Early on in his career, Cruise stole the show in everything from The Color of Money to Rain Man, A Few Good Men, and Eyes Wide Shut. However, as his dramatic roles became rarer and rarer, the actor inevitably became more closely associated with his blockbuster turns in action movies. Thus, even if Digger doesn’t finally win Cruise a late-career Best Actor Oscar, getting nominated for the prize alone would be a reminder of his considerable credibility as a dramatic performer.