New ‘Digger’ Trailer Reveals More Of Tom Cruise’s Crusty Oil Baron, A Role That Took The Actor 40 Years To Prepare
Warner Bros has released the final trailer for Digger, a political satire directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, ahead of its theatrical release on 2 October. Tom Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, a blunt, ageing oil baron tasked with fixing an environmental catastrophe that he himself caused, in a heavily transformed role the actor says took him "40 years to become". The film matters as a notable career departure for Cruise, reuniting him with an Oscar-winning director for what is being pitched as a darkly comic, Dr Strangelove-style take on political and environmental crisis.
The cast also includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons, with Goodman playing a US president who appears to blend traits of Trump and Biden. Iñárritu, a four-time Oscar winner, said he first conceived the character after making The Revenant and had long wanted to work with Cruise. The film was shot in VistaVision using a camera designed in 1954, with cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki, and this final trailer is the same one first shown to exhibitors at CinemaCon in April.
In short
- Warner Bros releases final Digger trailer ahead of 2 October release
- Tom Cruise plays a transformed, crusty oil baron character
- Iñárritu directs; cast includes Goodman, Ahmed, Hüller, Stuhlbarg, Plemons
Explained simply
Digger is a political satire about an oil tycoon whose business is linked to an environmental disaster, and who is asked to deal with its consequences. Tom Cruise plays the tycoon, Digger Rockwell, while John Goodman plays the US president.
The film is directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, whose work includes The Revenant, and brings him together with Cruise for the first time. Its story combines political and environmental crisis with dark comedy, and marks a change from the action roles for which Cruise is widely known.
The cast also includes Riz Ahmed, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. The film’s focus on an oil baron confronting damage tied to his own industry gives it a way to explore responsibility and the politics of environmental crises.