Johnny Depp’s Hollywood Comeback: Ebenezer Release Date, Cast and First Reactions

Johnny Depp is back, and he wants you to know it. In the trailer for Ebenezer, his Scrooge looks straight down the lens, winks and says it’s good to be back. Nobody missed the double meaning.

This is his first lead in a major studio film since the legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard stalled his Hollywood career. Paramount is betting that audiences still want him, and the first reactions suggest this comeback is going to divide people as much as Depp himself does.

What Is Ebenezer About?

It’s Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but darker. Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter, isolated miser who is visited by ghosts on Christmas Eve. In Ti West’s version, those visits are played as real horror rather than gentle lessons, while the classic theme of redemption stays at the heart of the story.

If you know West’s work on X, Pearl and MaXXXine, you can guess the tone: Victorian streets, snow, candlelight and plenty of dread.

Ebenezer Cast

The supporting cast is stacked. Rupert Grint plays Bob Cratchit, Ian McKellen is Jacob Marley, Andrea Riseborough is the Ghost of Christmas Past and Severance star Tramell Tillman is the Ghost of Christmas Present. Daisy Ridley plays Emily Cratchit, Sam Claflin is Fred, Arthur Conti plays young Scrooge and Ellie Bamber is Isabel Fezziwig.

Ebenezer First Reactions: Loved and Hated

The review embargo lifts on November 12, but critics who saw early screenings have already posted their reactions on X, and they could hardly be further apart.

Critic Phil Roberts called it a “bold spin” on the classic and a “sincere period piece infused with heart and despair”, saying Depp is “magnetic throughout”. A JoBlo writer found Depp’s performance cartoonish but “more layered than the trailer would suggest”.

At the other end, critic Lewis Powell praised the production design and score but called the film “chaotic, mismatched, and horrifically ill-judged”. Love it or hate it, people are talking.

Why This Is Depp’s Big Hollywood Comeback

Depp lost his role in the Fantastic Beasts films in 2020, the same year he lost a UK libel case. A televised US trial against Heard in 2022 largely went his way, and the two later settled. Depp has always denied abusing Heard.

Since then he has worked mostly outside the big studios. Ebenezer is Paramount’s test of whether audiences will turn out for him again. Reports say a strong run could even revive talk of a Jack Sparrow return in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Depp on Playing Scrooge

At the global premiere in London’s Leicester Square, Depp said he adored the story as a child and still believes nobody beats Alastair Sim’s Scrooge from the 1951 film. His challenge, he said, was to find “another angle”. West said it was Depp who approached him about the role.

What’s Next for Johnny Depp?

The comeback doesn’t stop here. Depp stars opposite Penélope Cruz and Madelyn Cline in the thriller Day Drinker, due in cinemas in March. Here’s what we know: Johnny Depp’s Day Drinker trailer, release date and plot.

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Source: MovieWeb on Ebenezer’s first reactions