Johnny Depp returns to major studio roles as Scrooge in ‘Ebenezer’

Johnny Depp is stepping into one of literature’s most famous roles this holiday season, playing the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge in “Ebenezer,” a new big-screen take on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” from horror director Ti West.

Paramount Pictures unveiled the first official poster Thursday, showing Mr. Depp’s character beneath a snow-dusted top hat, eyes narrowed toward the camera. The studio’s tagline for the project promises a version of the tale audiences haven’t seen before: “The name you know. The story you don’t.”

The film, drawn from Dickens’ 1843 novella, is being framed by Paramount as a ghost story following one man’s supernatural reckoning with his past, present and future, and his fight for a second chance, according to a report from Bloody Disgusting. Nathaniel Halpern, known for the TV series “Legion” and “Tales From the Loop,” wrote the screenplay.

Mr. West, the filmmaker behind the “X” horror trilogy, which includes “Pearl” and “MaXXXine,” is directing. The pairing marks a notable departure for a director previously associated with low-budget horror. For Mr. Depp, “Ebenezer” marks one of his highest-profile major studio roles since “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” in 2018 — though he continued working internationally in the interim, starring in 2023’s “Jeanne du Barry” and directing “Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness.” He’s also set to return to major U.S. studio filmmaking next year in Lionsgate’s “Day Drinker,” an action thriller co-starring Penelope Cruz.

The supporting cast is stacked with recognizable names: Andrea Riseborough, Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint, Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin, Charlie Murphy, Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber and Henry Lloyd-Hughes, along with Tramell Tillman of “Severance.” 

“A Christmas Carol” has been adapted for film and television dozens of times, from the 1951 version starring Alastair Sim to 2009’s motion-capture take with Jim Carrey. “Ebenezer” arrives in theaters Nov. 13.