After getting dropped from projects amid his defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny Depp's Hollywood comeback continues via his role in a holiday movie. Depp is playing the titular character in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol and is teaming up with A+ horror director, Ti West for the film. Anyone who's curious about how Depp will be approaching the role of Scrooge should know that his co-star, Rupert Grint, has two specific adjectives to describe his work.
It's understandable as to why some may be excited Johnny Depp’s comeback. As Depp's proven with his greatest roles, he has a zany sense of versatility and seemingly limitless range. While speaking with THR, Rupert Grint, who is just one great member of Depp’s best co-star lineup in ages, dropped a pair of keen words when talking up Depp's performance, and I'm intrigued:
It’s going great. It’s obviously a story that everyone knows, and there’ve been lots of adaptations in the past, and this just feels very different. It feels very faithful, but it has Ti’s signature on it, and Johnny’s amazing. He’s doing some really interesting things.
“Amazing” and “interesting” are perfect words to describe Johnny Depp. He has an uncanny talent for making each character his own and for completely disappearing into a character. Whether Depp portrays an eccentric outsider in Edward Scissorhands, a haunted antihero in Sweeney Todd, or a frustrated small-town guy in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, he brings something new to each character he plays.
The notion of Depp putting his spin on Ebenezer Scrooge is also interesting. It’s also refreshing that a horror director like Ti West will be bringing his signature directorial style to the Charles Dickens adaptation. West's hiring does make sense, especially given the holiday classic is supposed to be a ghost story. Given the light tones presented in the best Christmas Carol movie adaptations, the horror fan in me would love to see how West could put a spookier spin on this beloved story.
As alluded to, Johnny Depp will be joined by a roster of stellar actors, including Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Tramell Tillman, Daisy Ridley and Ian McKellen. Rupert Grint went on to admit that he was a bit starstruck by McKellen:
He's so iconic.
The British actor speaks the truth. As McKellen has dabbled in Shakespeare, Marvel and Dickens’ David Copperfield BBC adaptation, the knighted actor is another example of a performer who usually does no wrong in his roles.
All in all, this is shaping up to be an interesting production, and I'm curious to see what Johnny Depp and the rest of the cast bring under West's direction. We'll see if Depp's performance really is as "amazing" and "interesting" as Grint teases. Check out Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol when it opens in theaters on November 13th as part of the 2026 movie schedule.
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