Rogue One: A Star Wars Story actor Riz Ahmed is part of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s next film, Digger, with Tom Cruise. Ahmed highlighted the gruelling process of working with Cruise and Iñárritu’s obsessive methodology, finding that “It’s hard to explain” (via Collider):
Honestly, there’s nothing like that experience I’ve ever had before, just because of how motivated, focused, hardworking, and inspiring Tom Cruise is on set. The energy he has and the positivity is crazy. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Then Alejandro, the attention to detail, the vision, the ambition of it, as well, every day is just like, ‘Wow, this is kind of nuts.’
Digger follows Alejandro González Iñárritu’s return to an English-language feature following the acclaimed The Revenant. Tom Cruise portrays the lead, Digger Rockwell, with a stacked cast including Riz Ahmed.
Riz Ahmed Surrenders to Iñárritu’s Digger Direction
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s direction on Digger is like David Fincher’s obsessive methodology of taking 60 takes for the perfect scene, Riz Ahmed recalled to Collider. In the exclusive, Ahmed added:
I think acting, in essence, and any kind of creativity, is about surrender. You kind of surrender to a process, right? You try all these options so that when you get to the end of the process, a little bit of each of those choices is in there. You just surrender to that kind of crazy, obsessive perfectionism, which is inspiring and quite tiring, but probably for the best, because you’re not in control of it anymore.
Ahmed also mentions that he’s never worked with any director who functions the way Iñárritu does. Here are key details of the film.
DetailInformationTitleDiggerCreator / DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStudio / ProductionWarner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, TC Productions, M ProductionsGenreBlack comedyCastTom Cruise (Digger Rockwell), Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sophie Wilde, Riz Ahmed, Emma D’Arcy, Robert John Burke, Burn Gorman, Pip TorrensRelease DateOctober 2, 2026SettingPlot details largely undisclosed; described as global in scope with apocalyptic undertones; filmed primarily in the United Kingdom
Iñárritu himself has described that he’s chronically unsatisfied with his creative process, which leads to a time-intensive shoot, relying more on the production to get the perfect take rather than in post.
Tom Cruise is no stranger to this, having been part of Stanley Kubrick’s gruelling Eyes Wide Shut film that infamously took ages to film. This film will mark the first original film Tom Cruise has done in years, following Mission Impossible and Top Gun.
Tom Cruise Back to Prestige Cinema After a Decade
Tom Cruise as Rockwell Digger in Digger | Credit: Warner Bros.
Digger marks a shift in Tom Cruise’s action-filled career as the 61-year old actor does a full 180 back to prestige cinema with an auteur director. Both Cruise and Alejandro González Iñárritu are perfectionists, so it makes sense that Riz Ahmed had a paradoxical experience of inspiration and exhaustion.
Tom Cruise has only been part of billion-dollar franchises for nearly a decade, but let’s not forget the plethora of prestige acting under his belt.
YearFilmDirectorAwards Recognition1996Jerry MaguireCameron CroweOscar nom. (Cruise)1999MagnoliaPaul Thomas AndersonOscar nom. (Cruise, Supporting)2004CollateralMichael MannOscar noms. (Cinematography, Editing)
Three-time Oscar winner Iñárritu paired with Cruise is a deadly industry combo, bound to be talked about heavily, with Deadline reporting that the film is “a comedy of catastrophic proportions.”
Given the director’s history of only directing the best of the best, Birdman, for example, Digger sounds like a critic’s wet dream.
Digger will release in cinemas on October 2, 2026, in the U.S.
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