Ed Ruscha's Original Digger Poster Celebrated at LACMA Ahead of Film's Release

Hollywood and the art world collided this week when renowned American artist Ed Ruscha's original poster design — inspired by Iñárritu and Cruise's Digger — was celebrated at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, according to a September 28 announcement. The one-of-a-kind artwork marks a rare crossover between a major studio release and the fine-art world, landing just days before the film opens in theaters.

The poster is more than a marketing artifact. Ruscha, one of the most influential living American artists, created an original design taking inspiration from the film itself, and LACMA played host to its unveiling — a fitting venue for a project that clearly has awards-season ambitions written all over it.

The Heavyweight Team Behind the Film

The film is produced by Iñárritu, Oscar nominee Mary Parent, Cruise, and Michael Sharp, and executive produced by Joshua Grode, according to the announcement. Behind the camera, the crafts team reads like an Oscar roll call: Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, editor Stephen Mirrione, makeup and hair designer Alessandro Bertolazzi, production designer Dennis Gassner, prosthetic makeup designer Kazu Hiro, and casting director Francine Maisler.

The screenplay is credited to Iñárritu, Oscar winners Alexander Dinelaris and Nicolás Giacobone, and Sabina Berman, from a story by Berman, Iñárritu, and Jez Butterworth. It's the kind of writing-room pedigree that suggests Digger is swinging for prestige as well as box office.

A VistaVision Release

One of the most striking technical details: the film was shot entirely in VistaVision, the widescreen format that has seen a revival among filmmakers chasing a particular kind of cinematic grandeur. The film releases in theaters and IMAX across North America on October 2, 2026, with international rollout beginning September 30.

Cruise stars as "the most powerful man in the world" alongside Oscar winner Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Oscar nominee Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Oscar nominee Jesse Plemons. With the cast, the crafts team, the format, and now an original Ruscha poster to its name, Digger is stacking up credentials at a remarkable rate. Friday can't come soon enough.

A Prestige Play in Poster Form

The LACMA celebration is a savvy move that says as much about the film's ambitions as any trailer could. Studios don't typically hand their key art to one of America's most celebrated living artists unless they're making a statement about the film's cultural weight — and pairing Ruscha's name with a VistaVision-shot epic from a director of Iñárritu's stature is the kind of awards-season signaling that industry watchers read closely. The crafts roster alone — Lubezki behind the camera, Mirrione in the edit, Gassner on production design, Kazu Hiro on prosthetics — reads like a below-the-line dream team, the sort of lineup that gets cinematography and design branches talking. Add a screenplay credited to Iñárritu, two Oscar winners in Dinelaris and Giacobone, and Berman, and the film's prestige credentials are stacking up fast. When the film opens across North America on October 2, with international markets following from September 30, audiences will get to judge whether the art lives up to the artistry. The Ruscha poster, though, is already hanging in the conversation.