Tom Cruise shocked his army of fans on Tuesday when he showcased a whole new look for his upcoming dark comedy flick, Digger, which is set for a theatrical release on October 2.
The 63-year-old unveiled the first footage of the film at CinemaCon alongside the director, Alejandro Iñárritu, who wrote the script nine years prior and approached Tom with the project two years later.
In the clip, Tom transformed into oil baron Digger Rockwell, who sports gray hair, a bulging stomach and a thick Southern accent. The film follows Digger trying to fix an impending environmental disaster that his company caused with nothing but a shovel.
© Getty Images"It took me 40 years to be able to put on the boots of Digger Rockwell and [play] the many layers," Tom told the audience at CinemaCon.
He added that Digger was "the kind of movie is why I wanted to make movies," and that it was "wild, it's funny, and I can't wait for you all to see it."
Alejandro shared insight into Tom's complete transformation for the role and revealed that the iconic actor threw himself into the project like never before.
© Getty Images for CinemaCon"Watching Tom Cruise becoming Digger Rockwell, I was not prepared for that," the director said. "We know he's fearless. The stunts, the plane, the jumps. But I have to say, embodying this character is another kind of fearless. I think this role may be his most challenging, hire-wire act."
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Alejandro piqued the crowd's interest as he gave further details about the film in Cannes in 2025. "All I can say is it is a brutal, wild comedy of catastrophic proportions. It's insane. It's scary and funny and beautiful. I know comedy is not what people expect from me, or Tom, and making this film was terrifying for me,” he shared.
"But I don't like to repeat myself, and every film should scare you a little. I felt Birdman was a comedy, a dark comedy, and this one was challenging like that. And Tom makes me laugh every single day. He has this total commitment, this total madness."
© Getty ImagesDigger also stars John Goodman, Sandra Huller, Jesse Plemons, Riz Ahmed, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sophie Wilde and Emma D'Arcy.
© Getty ImagesTom later took to Instagram to share his gratitude over the reception of the film's teaser, alongside photos from the CinemaCon event. "I had a lot of fun at CinemaCon seeing so many friends. The year has already gotten off to a great start for cinema, and I'm looking forward to all the films still to come in the year ahead from countless hardworking and talented artists!" he wrote.
"Today, my dear friend Alejandro G. Iñárritu and I had a blast sharing our sneak peek of DIGGER," the star continued. "We cannot wait to share this film with the world in October and to be part of what is going to be such a special year at the movies!"
