Tom Cruise has stunned movie fans with one of the most dramatic transformations of his career in the full trailer for Digger, the new comedy-drama from Oscar-winning filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu.

The 64-year-old actor appears almost unrecognizable as Digger Rockwell, a wealthy and deeply eccentric oil baron described as the most powerful man in the world. Cruise wears a thinning grey comb-over, ageing facial prosthetics and a padded costume that gives the character a heavier appearance. He also adopts a strong Southern accent and exaggerated physical mannerisms.

The transformation immediately triggered surprised reactions online, with many viewers taking a second look before realising Cruise was the man beneath the makeup. However, his altered appearance is only part of what makes the film a major departure from the action-heavy roles that have dominated his recent career.

What happens in the Digger trailer?

Cruise’s character is a mega-rich oil businessman whose actions appear to have created an enormous ecological emergency. According to the film’s premise, Rockwell launches a frantic campaign to convince the public that he can save humanity before the disaster he helped unleash destroys everything.

The trailer suggests the crisis could carry consequences far beyond environmental damage, including economic chaos and the possibility of international conflict. Rockwell nevertheless presents himself as the only person capable of restoring order, even as questions grow about his responsibility for the catastrophe.

That setup makes Digger more than a conventional disaster movie. It appears to combine corporate satire, political absurdity and dark comedy, using Rockwell’s immense wealth and confidence to examine what happens when powerful people attempt to control both a crisis and the story told about it.

The supporting cast includes John Goodman, Riz Ahmed, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sandra Hüller, Sophie Wilde and Emma D’Arcy. The official Warner Bros. page for Digger lists the film as a theatrical release arriving in October 2026.

Tom Cruise says the role challenged him in a new way

Speaking at a Warner Bros. presentation in Los Angeles, Cruise said he had never worked on something that challenged him in quite the same way. He described the film as an original project and spoke about the importance of using makeup, movement, voice and physicality to communicate who a character is.

Cruise has previously altered his appearance for roles including Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder, the vampire Lestat in Interview with the Vampire and contract killer Vincent in Collateral. Digger Rockwell, however, places that transformation at the centre of a full leading performance.

The role is also notable because Cruise has spent much of the past decade concentrating on large-scale franchises such as Mission: Impossible and Top Gun. Digger instead places him in a director-led satire where dialogue, character flaws and comic timing may matter as much as spectacle.

The latest footage builds on the film’s earlier announcement, when Tom Cruise’s move into unfamiliar territory with Digger first signalled a sharp break from his familiar blockbuster image.

A decade-long idea from Alejandro González Iñárritu

Iñárritu has said the central idea began forming as he was completing The Revenant. Rather than immediately having a finished story, he reportedly spent years developing the character, tone and best way to tell the film’s unusual story.

The director later presented the screenplay to Cruise in an unconventional way, reading it aloud to him over several days. Cruise has said the process allowed him to hear the filmmaker’s intentions directly and better understand how he could contribute to the character.

Iñárritu also revealed that Cruise had been his preferred choice for the lead. The two had wanted to collaborate for years, while Cruise’s admiration for the director dates back to the release of Amores Perros in 2000.

Production reportedly took place in the United Kingdom over approximately six months. The film was photographed using VistaVision, a high-resolution film format introduced in the 1950s that has recently returned to prominence among directors seeking a distinctive large-screen image.

A separate retrospective trailer released before the full preview highlighted Cruise’s 46-year movie career with footage from titles including Top Gun, Rain Man, Jerry Maguire and A Few Good Men. The unusual campaign initially revealed little about Digger itself, but the new trailer now provides a clearer look at Rockwell, the ecological crisis and the film’s satirical tone.

Cruise’s appearance may be the trailer’s most immediately striking element, but the film’s real test will be whether audiences accept him as a reckless, comic and morally complicated tycoon. Digger reaches cinemas globally in October, offering Cruise a rare opportunity to step away from the polished action hero and disappear into a character who may be trying to save the world largely because he believes only he can do it.