{"id":689525,"date":"2026-07-13T16:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/689525\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:01:11","slug":"digger-trailer-tom-cruise-stars-in-alejandro-gonzalez-inarritus-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/689525\/","title":{"rendered":"Digger Trailer: Tom Cruise Stars in Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu’s film"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tTom Cruise<\/a> had to dig deep for his latest starring role \u2014 pun intended.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI have never had something that could challenge me in this way, and neither has Alejandro,\u201d Cruise said about starring in \u201cDigger<\/a>,\u201d the black comedy from two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu<\/a> (\u201cBirdman,\u201d \u201cThe Revenant\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n\tDescribed as \u201ca comedy of catastrophic proportions,\u201d the Warner Bros. film is I\u00f1\u00e1rritu\u2019s first English-language movie since \u201cThe Revenant.\u201d Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, sporting a thick Southern accent, a pot belly and thinning white hair (fashioned in an unconvincing combover) to play \u201cthe most powerful man in the world,\u201d a billionaire whose company may have set off an ecological disaster that could also spark a nuclear war.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEverything changes,\u201d Cruise\u2019s Digger says at the top of the clip, which sets the stakes. \u201cOne day you\u2019re a cat, or a king. Next day, you\u2019re just ashes in a box.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Digger learns that his product has caused a glacier to shift significantly, one could say he\u2019s less than concerned. \u201cThat glacier over there in Greenland shifts five feet. Now, this desk in front of me is bigger than five feet. My dick is a tenth of that size,\u201d he says, growing increasingly agitated. \u201cWhat? Do you want me to shut down a billion-dollar platform over something ten times the size of my dick?\u201d (Digger\u2019s bigger concern is his ancient white cat, who could have anywhere between \u201ctwo weeks and five minutes\u201d left to live.)<\/p>\n

\n\tJohn Goodman portrays an ailing U.S. president who implores Cruise\u2019s character to fix the mess he\u2019s unleashed. \u201cDigger got us all into this mess and Digger\u2019s going to dig us out again,\u201d Goodman bellows after learning it could take up to $18 trillion to fix this situation. (The answer, it appears, is to drop a missile on the iceberg.) <\/p>\n

\n\tAs the logline teases, the film follows as Digger \u201cembarks on a frantic mission to prove that he is humanity\u2019s savior before the disaster he\u2019s unleashed destroys everything.\u201d But even if Digger can\u2019t save the world, at least he can control the narrative. There\u2019s a difference between the facts and a well-told story, he explains.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen all else fails, you hit \u2019em with the truth. You know the hard truth,\u201d Digger says near the end of the clip. \u201cJust bang bang bang.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRiz Ahmed, Sandra H\u00fcller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde and Emma D\u2019Arcy round out the buzzy ensemble cast.<\/p>\n

\n\tAhead of the trailer\u2019s launch, Cruise previewed the highly anticipated footage for press, film critics and fans in a special presentation on the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDigger\u201d might be I\u00f1\u00e1rritu and Cruise\u2019s first collaboration, but Cruise has been a fan since he got an early preview of I\u00f1\u00e1rritu\u2019s debut feature, the 2000 crime thriller \u201cAmores Perros.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat a brilliant film. It was amazing,\u201d Cruise said during in a Q&A moderated by film journalist Kevin McCarthy. \u201cI was one of the first audiences, and I heard about it early on, so when I saw that film, I don\u2019t know how you all felt, but I was like, \u2018What the fuck? This guy!’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEven at the advent of his career, Cruise explained, I\u00f1\u00e1rritu\u2019s \u201cskilled eye\u201d was evident: \u201cI\u2019m seeing the details of this filmmaker, what he conquered very early on here, and I\u2019m going, \u2018How?\u2019 The staging. Chivo [I\u00f1\u00e1rritu\u2019s longtime collaborator, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki], and what they\u2019re doing with the camera. The performances. The design. The color in the movie. Every aspect of that film was very thought out, very detailed, and you could feel the powerful human voice of someone who was incredibly skilled at what they were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor years, Cruise would spread the word about the director\u2019s genius by showing the film to friends, but it took years for them to meet and even longer to find the right project to collaborate on. Then, about seven years ago, I\u00f1\u00e1rritu pitched Cruise the idea for \u201cDigger.\u201d Instead of mailing over a finished screenplay \u2014 which is based on a script I\u00f1\u00e1rritu co-wrote in 2023 with \u201cBirdman\u201d co-writers Nicolas Giacobone and Alexander Dinelaris, along with Sabina Berman \u2014 I\u00f1\u00e1rritu and Cruise spent several days together with the director reading the script to his potential star.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m listening to everything that\u2019s in his mind, so that I can understand that, and then I know how to contribute to it, and bring that collaboration together,\u201d Cruise recalled. \u201cIt was beautiful.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tThe way I\u00f1\u00e1rritu described Digger, it was clear to Cruise that \u201cthis guy\u2019s got fucking balls.\u201d That\u2019s all he needed to hear. He was game and ready to go. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than to physically and metaphorically stand on the edge of a cliff and go, \u2018Let\u2019s do this. And I trust you, and whatever we\u2019re going to do, I know this is going to be a hell of an experience,’\u201d Cruise added. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe actor particularly relished the idea of transforming to play the role with makeup and prosthetics.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen we\u2019re looking for characters, we\u2019re looking for humor, drama, certain constructs [and asking] \u2018How do we communicate this?’\u201d Cruise said, outlining his process. \u201cWhether it\u2019s Les Grossman [in \u2018Tropic Thunder\u2019] or \u2018Interview With the Vampire,\u2019 \u2018Collateral\u2019 or \u2018Risky Business,\u2019 I\u2019m always asking, \u2018How do I communicate this?\u2019 The physicality, the makeup, that is stuff that you find.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tTom Cruise in \u201cDigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWarner Bros.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film, produced by Legendary Pictures, was shot in the U.K. over six months with Lubezki as the cinematographer, using VistaVision. I\u00f1\u00e1rritu was unable to join the Cruise at the launch event because he\u2019s still in the U.K. finishing the sound mix, but shared his version of the film\u2019s backstory in a video message. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was just after \u2018The Revenant,\u2019 when I had an idea. Not a script, not a film, just a relentless, recurring obsession that has endured through all these wild years. I knew who this character was,\u201d I\u00f1\u00e1rritu said in the clip. \u201cI knew how he spoke, how he survived, how he seduced reality into agreeing with him. But it took me 10 years to do this film, because I wasn\u2019t looking for a story. I was looking for the right way of saying it. And it\u2019s absurd, it\u2019s dangerous, but certainly comedic, because the source of great comedy is tragedy. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPeople often ask me why I chose Tom to play Digger. To me, that\u2019s like asking somebody why you drink water when you are thirsty. Because it\u2019s what you need,\u201d I\u00f1\u00e1rritu said, before introducing the clip: \u201cLadies and gentlemen, prepare yourself, because Mother Nature loves motherfuckers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDigger\u201d is Cruise\u2019s first film with Warner Bros. since signing a deal to develop and produce theatrical films with the studio in January 2024. Cruise\u2019s last film with Warner Bros., the sci-fi action film \u201cEdge of Tomorrow,\u201d was released in 2014. He most recently starred in \u201cMission: Impossible \u2014 The Final Reckoning,\u201d the action-packed ending to his run as IMF agent Ethan Hunt. During the conversation, Cruise reflected on his 46-year movie career and explained how his performance in \u201cDigger\u201d represents the accumulation of those experiences. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m so grateful. It\u2019s kind of amazing to be here at this age,\u201d Cruise said, acknowledging the lessons he \u201cabsorbed\u201d from the master filmmakers he\u2019s worked with over time, beginning with his earliest experiences on set, like watching Martin Scorsese direct Paul Newman on 1986\u2019s \u201cThe Color of Money\u201d or one of his first films, 1981\u2019s \u201cTaps.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think back to that kid on the set looking into different departments, and those people that were gracious enough to be able to share that knowledge,\u201d Cruise said. \u201cI was like, \u2018I know I don\u2019t understand it now. One day, I will understand it more,\u2019 and I did. \u2026 I recognize how fortunate I was, just absorbing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDigger\u201d is in theaters on Oct. 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom Cruise had to dig deep for his latest starring role \u2014 pun intended. \u201cI have never had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":689526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[229761,184230,96,2839,17293,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-689525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-alejandro-gonzu00e1lez-iu00f1u00e1rritu","tag-digger","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-tom-cruise","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=689525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/689526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=689525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=689525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=689525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}