Scrooge Returns With a Darker, Stranger Christmas Ghost Story
Johnny Depp is stepping into one of literature’s most famously miserable pairs of shoes as Ebenezer Scrooge in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, a darker new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ timeless ghost story.
Directed by Ti West, the film arrives in theaters on November 13, 2026 and leans into the eerie side of Scrooge’s supernatural reckoning. The first official trailer brings foggy Victorian streets, rattling chains, spectral visitors and Depp disappearing beneath heavy age makeup to deliver one very committed “Humbug.”
The supporting cast is just as stacked. Ian McKellen appears as Jacob Marley, while Rupert Grint plays Bob Cratchit, Sam Claflin takes on Fred and Andrea Riseborough arrives as the Ghost of Christmas Past. Daisy Ridley and Tramell Tillman also help round out the film’s Dickensian world.
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West, best known for films including X and Pearl, appears to be pulling the story back toward its gothic roots. Dickens’ original tale was always a redemption story wrapped inside a haunting, and this version looks ready to make every creaking floorboard, shadowed hallway and midnight visitor count.
Depp’s physical transformation is already doing much of the talking. Bent posture, severe sideburns, weathered features and a permanently offended expression turn him into a Scrooge who looks as if Christmas cheer personally owes him money.
The trailer also makes clear that this will not be a soft, twinkling stroll through Victorian nostalgia. Marley’s chains feel heavier, the spirits feel more threatening and Scrooge’s path toward redemption appears designed as a true supernatural reckoning.
Watch the Official Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol Trailer
Press play for the first official look at Johnny Depp’s transformation as Scrooge, Ian McKellen’s Jacob Marley and Ti West’s darker vision of the Dickens classic.
Source: Paramount Pictures.
