Guillermo del Toro ends speculation: Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ won’t be a musical

Sharp-eyed viewers spotted a few odd flourishes in last week’s new trailer for Digger: Tom Cruise appears to be posed on a rotating platform, and a couple of background moments look suspiciously like people mid-song. That was enough to spark a viral theory on X that the movie is secretly a musical masquerading as a gritty satire.

Not a musical, says del Toro

The chatter really took off after author Jason Pargin (John Dies at the End) floated the theory on X, a post that has been viewed more than 4 million times. But another filmmaker jumped in to swat it down.

“And... it is not a musical,”

Guillermo del Toro wrote on X, reposting a clip in which Tom Cruise and filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu talk through the movie’s premise.

Del Toro’s comment lines up with what two people familiar with the production told Variety: they denied the rumor and were reportedly “amused” by the speculation. The film has been presented as a satirical black comedy — not a stealth song-and-dance number — despite those trailer moments that set social media spinning.

Beyond the musical detour, Cruise’s dramatic on-screen transformation has been a separate talking point all its own, thanks to recent behind-the-scenes teases.

The ensemble around Cruise is stacked. Here’s who’s on deck:

• Riz Ahmed
• John Goodman
• Sandra Hüller
• Michael Stuhlbarg
• Jesse Plemons

For now, consider the songbook theory closed — and the movie still very much a satire, per del Toro and multiple insiders who’ve seen what’s actually in the can.