Johnny Depp made a surprise appearance at San Diego Comic-Con this week, stepping fully into character as Ebenezer Scrooge to debut the first trailer for Ebenezer, a new big-screen retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
The film, directed by horror filmmaker Ti West and distributed by Paramount Pictures, marks one of Depp's highest-profile studio roles in years. Paramount describes the story as a ghost story following one man's supernatural journey to face his past, present, and future as he fights for a second chance at redemption - the same core message that has made Dickens' 1843 novella one of the most enduring Christmas stories ever written.
That redemption arc is no accident. Long before it became a holiday staple, A Christmas Carol was written as a moral wake-up call - the story of a hardened, isolated man confronted with the truth of his own life and given the rare mercy of a chance to change before it's too late. It's a theme that has resonated with audiences of every background for nearly two centuries precisely because it echoes something deeper: that no one is too far gone for transformation.
West, known for horror films like X and Pearl, has said some of his earliest exposure to horror storytelling came through past Christmas Carol adaptations, giving him a personal connection to this new version. The starry ensemble cast includes Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley, along with Andrea Riseborough, Daisy Ridley, Rupert Grint, and Sam Claflin.
Ebenezer hits theaters November 13, 2026, giving audiences a fresh - if considerably spookier - reminder of what it means to wake up on Christmas morning a changed man.
