Johnny Depp has always thrived in roles that feel half-character, half-metamorphosis, from Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Pirates of the Caribbean and Alice in Wonderland. He has built a career on disguise, eccentricity, and a knack for vanishing inside wildly different personas, which is why one more strange, sharply defined figure feels like a perfect fit for his comeback.

That character is now Ebenezer Scrooge.

At Comic-Con, Johnny Depp appeared in full Scrooge makeup and period costume on the streets of San Diego, turning the Gaslamp Quarter into a live-action Dickens scene. The stunt took place outside a pop-up shop styled as “Scrooge and Marley,” where fans watched him emerge in Victorian garb.

Complete with top hat, dark coat, and the miserly glare that defines the role. He stayed in character throughout the street appearance, greeting the crowd with a sour attitude that matched the classic character. The surprise did not stop there. Depp later appeared in Hall H to introduce the trailer for Ebenezer, and the teaser opened with the line.

“It’s good to be back,” a phrase that landed both as Scrooge’s voice and as a nod to Depp’s return to major studio filmmaking. The film, directed by Ti West, is set for release on November 13 and also stars Andrea Riseborough, Tramell Tillman, Ian McKellen, and Rupert Grint. With this role, Depp adds yet another offbeat figure to his already eccentric gallery of screen creations.

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That first look sets the tone for a trailer that leans fully into Depp’s darker reinvention of Scrooge.

Johnny Depp’s new Ebenezer trailer leans into the actor’s knack for turning familiar figures into something strange, theatrical, and a little dangerous. In the clip, he plays Scrooge as a snarling, snow-covered miser, swatting at strangers with snowballs while ghostly visions drag him through Christmas chaos. It is the kind of role that fits Depp’s long history of unusual reinventions, and it also signals a very deliberate return to major studio territory.

The trailer frames Scrooge as both comic and haunted, with Ti West turning Dickens into something darker and more unsettling than a standard holiday retelling. The film arrives after years in which Depp largely worked outside the Hollywood studio system, and this project looks designed to announce his return in the biggest way possible.

Somewhere in between all that, Depp has also been quietly shaping a more personal side of his public image through Three Hearts Rum. The launch reflects a hands-on approach, with Depp involved in the bottle design, branding, and overall storytelling around the product. That added layer makes his current run feel less like a simple comeback and more like a reinvention across both film and business.

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What do you think about Johnny Depp’s return with Ebenezer and his bold take on Scrooge? Let us know in the comments.