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Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise is promoting DIGGER, the Alejandro G. Inarritu film in which he plays Digger Rockwell, an oil drilling CEO whose profit-first decisions trigger a crisis. The Japanese release is set for October 9 and the United States release for October 2, 2026.

Synthesized from 4 Yomimono stories · updated Sep 13

Tom Cruise's current work is DIGGER, directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, in which he plays Digger Rockwell, an oil drilling CEO whose profit-first decisions trigger a crisis threatening Earth's destruction. The role is a departure from his action-hero image: Cruise appears white-haired and pot-bellied in the trailers and posters and opens a TikTok account, while the campaign tagline reads "With great power comes great evasion of responsibility." Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Huller and Michael Stuhlbarg co-star.

The rollout has been staggered. A trailer titled "Tom Cruise's 45-Year Journey" arrived on June 24, 2026, a montage of clips from Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men, the Mission: Impossible series and The Last Samurai leading into footage from DIGGER. At CinemaCon, Cruise said the role took 40 years of preparation. Three teaser posters followed, showing Digger with a gun from various angles. A new trailer and poster came on July 14, giving the first clear look at the oil CEO character and confirming the October 9 Japanese release date; a further trailer and visual arrived by September 10.

The dates now in circulation are an October 2, 2026 United States release and an October 9 Japanese opening. Coverage has treated the film as a disaster comedy about a man who holds the fate of the world after causing the disaster, rather than the hero who averts it. The summaries disagree on one detail: an early report describes a 2026 Japanese release without a date, and a later one gives October 9.

Outside DIGGER, the stories place Cruise at the World Cup closing ceremony before the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium, alongside Robbie Williams, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Hudson and streamer IShowSpeed.

Key facts

Current film
DIGGER, directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu
Role
Digger Rockwell, an oil drilling CEO whose profit-first decisions trigger a crisis threatening Earth's destruction
Co-stars
Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Huller and Michael Stuhlbarg
Japan release date
October 9
United States release date
October 2, 2026
Trailer rollout
A trailer titled "Tom Cruise's 45-Year Journey" released June 24, 2026; a new trailer was set for July 14
Cruise's statement
At CinemaCon he said it took him 40 years to be able to play this role
Character presentation
White-haired and pot-bellied, making vulgar jokes; three teaser posters show Digger with a gun from various angles
World Cup appearance
At the closing ceremony before the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium, with Robbie Williams, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Hudson and IShowSpeed

Timeline

Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every fact links the story it came from.

Facts

Noted
featured in the ceremony · 2026-07-15
Noted
plays a greedy oil CEO named Digger Rockwell · 2026-07-14
Noted
appearance is white-haired, pot-bellied, making vulgar jokes · 2026-07-14
Noted
opened a TikTok account · 2026-07-14

Connections

Voice cast
digger

Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/tom-cruise. CC BY 4.0.

All coverage

Sep 10

New DIGGER Trailer Puts Tom Cruise in a Flashy Suit and a Bloody Forehead

A new trailer and visual for DIGGER, the Tom Cruise film directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, arrived ahead of its October 9 opening in Japan. Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an oil drilling CEO whose profit-first decisions trigger a crisis threatening Earth's destruction. The trailer carries the tagline "With great power comes great evasion of responsibility." Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Huller and Michael Stuhlbarg co-star.

Jul 15

IShowSpeed to Perform at World Cup Closing Ceremony With Tom Cruise

Streamer IShowSpeed will perform his unofficial World Cup anthem "World Cup (Champions)" at the closing ceremony before the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium. He initially thought the FIFA call was a prank. The ceremony also features Robbie Williams, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, Tom Cruise, and Jennifer Hudson. The song was included in the official FIFA World Cup 2026 album.

Jul 14

Tom Cruise's 'DIGGER' Trailer Reveals Greedy Oil CEO Role, October Japanese Release

The new trailer and poster for 'DIGGER', Tom Cruise and Alejandro G. Iñárritu's film, reveal Cruise plays a greedy oil CEO named Digger Rockwell whose actions cause Earth's destruction. The Japanese release date is October 9. Cruise's appearance is drastically different: white-haired, pot-bellied, making vulgar jokes. He also opened a TikTok account.

Jun 24

Tom Cruise and Iñárritu Release 'DIGGER' Trailer Tracing 45-Year Career

Tom Cruise and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu released a trailer for the film 'DIGGER' on June 24, 2026. The trailer, titled 'Tom Cruise's 45-Year Journey,' is a montage of clips from Cruise's past films including 'Top Gun,' 'Jerry Maguire,' 'A Few Good Men,' the 'Mission: Impossible' series, and 'The Last Samurai,' leading into footage from 'DIGGER.' The film is described as an 'extraordinary disaster comedy' about a man named Digger Rockwell who holds the fate of the world after causing a disaster. Cruise said at CinemaCon that it took him 40 years to be able to play this role. Three teaser posters were also released, showing Digger with a gun from various angles. The film is scheduled for a 2026 release in Japan and an October 2, 2026 release in the United States. A new trailer is set for July 14.