Johnny Depp Plays Scrooge in a Gothic Take on A Christmas Carol

Ebenezer, a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’s 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, opens in the US and UK on 13 November. Johnny Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge, and Paramount Pictures is distributing.

The director is Ti West, known for the horror trilogy X, Pearl and MaXXXine, and the screenplay is by Nathaniel Halpern. Judging by the footage shown so far, it is a dark gothic fantasy rather than a family Christmas tale.

What the film is about

The plot follows the classic story: on Christmas Eve the miserly London moneylender Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his late partner Jacob Marley and then by three spirits, of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. They show him his past, the lives of the people around him and how it will all end if he does not change.

Who is in it

• Johnny Depp as Ebenezer Scrooge;
• Arthur Conti as young Ebenezer;
• Rupert Grint as the clerk Bob Cratchit;
• Daisy Ridley as Emily Cratchit;
• Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley;
• Andrea Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past;
• Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present;
• Sam Claflin as Scrooge’s nephew Fred;
• Ellie Bamber as Isabel Fezziwig.

How it was made

Filming began in January 2026 in Dublin and London, with some scenes shot at the Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent. The budget is around 38 million dollars, the producer is Emma Watts and the cinematographer is Checco Varese. Depp first presented footage at CinemaCon in April and made a surprise appearance at Comic-Con in full Scrooge costume.

When to watch

Ebenezer opens in Australia and Brazil on 12 November and in the US and UK on 13 November. There are no reviews yet at the time of publication. Cast and stills are on the film’s page in our AMDB database.