Paramount Pictures has officially released the gripping full trailer for Ebenezer. This film marks Johnny Depp’s highly anticipated return to mainstream Hollywood studio films after an eight-year hiatus. Directed by horror auteur Ti West, known for his work on the acclaimed X trilogy, the film offers a dark, gothic, and supernatural spin on Charles Dickens’ classic 1843 holiday novella, A Christmas Carol.
Anchored by the chilling logline, “The name you know, the story you don’t,” the newly unleashed preview showcases Depp looking unrecognizable as the famously festive-averse Ebenezer Scrooge. Rather than a standard holiday period piece, West leans heavily into horror-tinged aesthetics. He plunges Depp’s character into a terrifying supernatural reckoning with his past, present, and future alongside zombie-like creatures and eerie spirits.
A Star-Studded Ensemble Cast
Depp is joined by a powerhouse ensemble cast featuring some of the most recognizable names in film and television. Ian McKellen stars as Scrooge’s doomed business partner, Jacob Marley, while Rupert Grint takes on the role of the loyal and long-suffering Bob Cratchit. The cast also features Andrea Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin, Ellie Bamber, Arthur Conti, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, and Charlie Murphy.
The screenplay was penned by Nathaniel Halpern, who adapted Dickens’ timeless text into a spooky revenge thriller. The production represents Paramount’s major push into the holiday box office, scheduled to hit theaters on November 13.
Johnny Depp’s Major Hollywood Comeback
Ebenezer serves as a monumental career milestone for Depp, who has not starred in a mainstream Hollywood studio film since 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Following his highly publicized 2022 defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard, the actor primarily focused on independent cinema and international projects, including the French period drama Jeanne du Barry.
Industry analysts are watching closely to see how Ebenezer performs at the box office. Releasing on a Friday the 13th in November gives the supernatural feature a unique window to build momentum heading into the winter holiday season. It opens opposite the crime thriller How to Rob a Bank and the drama Paper Tigers before facing major competition from The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping the following week.
Release Details and Marketing Campaign
The marketing rollout for the film gained significant traction earlier this year when Depp made a surprise appearance at San Diego Comic-Con. Walking the streets of the Gaslamp District and crashing Hall H panels in full Scrooge costume, the actor generated immediate social media buzz for the project.
Whether audiences are ready to embrace Depp’s theatrical return in a gothic holiday horror remains to be seen. However, the studio is banking heavily on the combination of West’s directorial vision and Depp’s magnetic screen presence to draw crowds.
Ebenezer opens exclusively in theaters nationwide on November 13.
