Tom Cruise drove some intrigue among his fans when he promised a drastic transformation to come for his latest venture, the dark comedy Digger, and that shocking new look is finally upon us.
After months of teasing, including a CinemaCon footage drop earlier in the year, the trailer for Alejandro González Iñárritu's upcoming flick has finally dropped, debuting the 64-year-old actor's stark new look.
© Warner Bros. PicturesAs shown prior, Tom now sports aging prosthetic work that transforms him far beyond his years, gray hair, a bulging stomach, and a contagious zest for power. This is the actor's most visceral appearance shift for a role since the appalling and hilarious Les Grossman in 2008's Tropic Thunder.
Tom becomes oil baron Digger Rockwell, who is trying to fix an impending environmental disaster that his company caused with nothing but a shovel. Watch the Digger trailer below...
Fans were immediately stunned by Tom's new look after it had been teased for several months, commenting on the online trailer drop: "This looks absolutely UNHINGED and I love it. Can't wait," and: "Crazy Cruise is BACK."
Some also maintained that this would be the movie that got him a long-awaited competitive Oscar, with responses like: "Dr Strangelove for our times, in Iñarritu we trust and Tom's getting his Oscar for acting, long overdue," plus: "Finally time for his Oscar."
"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 in April.
© Warner Bros. PicturesHe added that Digger was "the kind of movie [which] 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.
"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."
© Warner Bros. PicturesAlejandro piqued the crowd's interest as he gave further details about the film at 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."
© Warner Bros. PicturesDigger also stars John Goodman, Sandra Huller, Jesse Plemons, Riz Ahmed, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sophie Wilde and Emma D'Arcy.
Tom later took to Instagram to share his gratitude over the reception of the film's initial teaser. "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.
© Getty Images"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!" Digger is out in cinemas on October 2.
