First Ebenezer Trailer Reveals Johnny Depp's Haunting, Yet Comedic Take On Scrooge

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Ebenezer Scrooge in a doorway speaking to someone

Published Jul 23, 2026, 9:25 PM EDT

Adam has been writing in the entertainment news space for over a decade. Beginning his career of covering film and TV at CinemaBlend, he has also appeared on The Flash Podcast and done several radio spots.

The first trailer for the Johnny Depp-led Ebenezer has arrived to give audiences their first taste of the actor’s unique take on Scrooge.

In just four months, the newest adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol will be released. This time around, it’s Depp bringing life to Ebenezer Scrooge, literature’s most famous miser. Earlier today, the first look at Depp as Scrooge was provided with the Ebenezer poster. Now, there’s footage to take in as well, so watch the Ebenezer trailer below:

Like most versions of A Christmas Carol, this version looks to be a moody and haunting affair. While Johnny Depp’s Scrooge has that same kind of vibe, his depiction is also quite humorous, from how Scrooge expresses contempt towards his fellow man, to how he reacts to the supernatural phenomena haunting him on Christmas Eve. It’s channeling similar manic energy he presented while playing characters like Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Willy Wonka in 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Mad Hatter in Disney's live-action Alice in Wonderland movies.

This is Depp’s first major Hollywood movie since playing Gellert Grindelwald in 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, with Mads Mikkelsen taking over the role for 2022’s Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. However, Depp has appeared in smaller productions in recent years, including Minamata, Jeanne du Barry, and Johnny Puff: Secret Mission. Additionally, he directed and produced the Italian biographical drama Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness. There are also unconfirmed reports about him potentially reprising Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6.

Depp is joined in Ebenezer by Rupert Grint as Bob Crachit, Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley, Andrea Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Daisy Ridley as Emily Cratchit, Sam Claflin as Fred, and Ellie Bamber as Isabel Fezziwig. Director Ti West, best known for the X trilogy, helmed the movie based off a script written by Nathaniel Halpern. Ebenezer began filming in London and Dublin this past January.

While it’s too soon to say if Ebenezer will become one of the best movie adaptations of A Christmas Carol, it does look to be delivering a more faithful take on Dickens’ source material, the antics of Depp’s Scrooge aside. The 2019 miniseries A Christmas Carol, starring Guy Pearce as Scrooge, did the same, albeit with a much darker tone. Looser adaptations of A Christmas Carol from recent years include Spirited and Christmas Karma.

Ebenezer opens in theaters on November 13, the same day as MGM’s How to Rob a Bank and Neon’s Paper Tiger. The Cat in the Hat, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, and Focker-in-Law are among the other big movies releasing in November. After Ebenezer, Depp will next be seen starring with Madelyn Kline and Penélope Cruz in the action thriller Day Drinker, which comes out on March 26, 2027.