Johnny Depp is about to learn what Christmas is all about.
The former superstar, whose career was overshadowed by his legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard and off-screen antics, is returning to blockbuster filmmaking with “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol.” Paramount debuted a first-look at the Yuletide release during its presentation to movie theater owners at CinemaCon on Thursday, with Depp taking the stage in Las Vegas.
Depp entered The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace to wild applause and catcalls from the rafters. “It really has been an extraordinary privilege,” Depp said on stage, about being asked by director Ti West to take on the role, calling the tale of Scrooge one “I have been obsessed with since I was a little child.”
A teaser trailer played for the annual convention of movie theater owners showed Depp in full, crotchety Scrooge mode — terrifying villagers, withholding Christmas bonuses and never learning his lesson. In a video message ahead of Depp’s appearance, director West said that his exposure to certain “A Christmas Carol” adaptations were some of his earliest glimpses of the horror genre. Those themes are alive here, as the ghosts who visit Depp’s Scrooge are intricate, terrifying apparitions not suitable for the whole family.
Depp was once a major box office draw, but he developed a reputation for outlandish behavior that reportedly caused the budgets on films like “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” to increase. Then the legal issues with Heard, who accused him of abuse, led to him being pushed out of his role as Grindelwald in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise. His career has started to rebound after he won his defamation lawsuit against Heard in 2022. Depp was also recently cast in the action-thriller “Day Drinker,” which Lionsgate will release.
In “Ebenezer,” Depp leads a starry cast that includes Andrea Riseborough, Tramell Tillman, Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint and Daisy Ridley. The reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic is directed by West, who is best known for his work on horror films like ” Pearl” and “MaXXXine.”
“Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” will hit theaters on Nov. 13.
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From Variety US