Johnny Depp Steps Into the Dark, Supernatural World of Ti West’s ‘Ebenezer’
With the first trailer for Ti West’s Ebenezer now out in the open, Paramount Pictures has given the public a look at what is shaping up to be one of the holiday season’s most anticipated theatrical offerings. The footage was put on display after Johnny Depp made an unannounced, in-character stop at San Diego Comic-Con, and it is a starkly unconventional take on Charles Dickens’ 1843 classic with more than a hint of horror.
In what is a high profile return to major studio work for Depp, he is joined by a director whose recent body of work has been all about deconstructing genre with an atmospheric edge. Fresh from the critical acclaim of his X slasher trilogy (X, Pearl, MaXXXine), West does not treat the novella as some seasonal comfort food; rather, he makes of it a psychological reckoning full of shadow and mortality. Nathaniel Halpern’s script (Tales from the Loop, Legion) eschews the usual sentimentality in favour of a darker, supernatural bent.
The trailer gives a sense of Depp’s complete metamorphosis into a Scrooge who is as bitter as the snow around him, at once isolated and cruel yet subject to the machinations of spectral forces. It is no ordinary adaptation. In line with their marketing, “The name you know, the story you don’t,” the studio is setting the stage for a hard look at the miser’s hidden guilt.
There is an impressive array of talent on hand for Ebenezer as well. Alongside the leading man are such names as Sir Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley, Andrea Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present. Rupert Grint and Daisy Ridley play the Cratchits, while Sam Claflin, Charlie Murphy and Ellie Bamber are among those in supporting roles.
Paramount is making no bones about this being a late-year tentpole and a considerable theatrical wager, one that speaks volumes of their faith in Depp’s box office appeal. By putting West’s brand of dread to a literary staple, they are intent on making something visceral of a story that has been done to death.
The film will have its exclusive theatrical run beginning November 13, 2026.
