No, Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ Isn’t a Musical

Internet sleuths were convinced this week that Tom Cruise’s upcoming movie “Digger” is a secret musical, but unfortunately that isn’t the case.

Variety spoke with two sources familiar with the production, who said “Digger” is not a movie musical, but both were amused by the sleuthing.

The rumor started online after the film’s final trailer was released, and in certain shots it looked like Cruise — wearing nearly unrecognizable makeup and prosthetics for the role — was on a rotating platform often used in stage productions. In other shots, background actors appeared to have their mouths open while singing. The theory quickly spread on social media.

“My favorite conspiracy theory right now is that Digger is secretly a musical and they’re desperately trying to hide it in the marketing,” author Jason Pargin wrote on X on Sept. 10.

“Digger” has not been widely screened for press yet, and is set to be released on Oct. 2.

Cruise said he first latched on to the project when director Alejandro G. Iñárritu read him the script aloud over several days.

“I’ve always done that,” Cruise said in an interview with Empire. “I want the writer to read me his idea, because then I can see where we’re going. We’re exploring rhythms, and I’m feeling the world. I’m literally an audience. I want to hear his voice. I want to understand, and see the world the way he sees it.”

Besides Cruise, the starry cast of “Digger” includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. Iñárritu wrote the script alongside Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone and Sabina Berman, from a story by Jez Butterworth, Berman and Iñárritu.

Watch the final “Digger” trailer, which made people wonder if it was a musical, below.

Matt Donnelly and Clayton Davis contributed to this report.