image copyrightParamount Pictures
Johnny Depp plays Scrooge in Ebenezer, the new adaptation of "A Christmas Carol."
It's his first film for a studio since the court battles with his ex-wife, Amber Heard, and all eyes will be on the box office.
Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is the quintessential story of the redemption and rehabilitation of a man of questionable reputation who surprises the world with his goodness.
What should we think, then, of Ebenezer, the new film version starring Johnny Depp?
A controversial election
The choice of Depp undoubtedly adds a postmodern nuance to the film.
In November 2020, the actor lost a defamation lawsuit in England against The Sun newspaper, after it called him a "woman abuser" in an article about his relationship with his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
image copyrightEPA
The judge ruled that The Sun had demonstrated that the content of the article was "substantially truthful".
Warner Bros. immediately dispensed with Depp in J. K. Rowling's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" saga.
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Shortly after, the marriage was once again at the center of a legal battle: in 2022, Depp sued Heard for defamation in the United States. He alleged that she had suggested in an op-ed for The Washington Post that he was abusive to her. On this occasion, the jury ruled in his favor and concluded that Heard had defamed him.
However, the high-profile trial lasted six weeks and brought to light details about their stormy relationship and drug use.
Among those who testified was Dr. Laurel Anderson, who had been his couples therapist and testified that, in her opinion, there had been "mutual abuse."
Depp's career seemed to be, to use Dickens's expression, "dead as a doornail."
"Do I feel boycotted by Hollywood? Well, only someone without a pulse could not feel that way. Of course, when they ask you to give up a movie because of (an accusation) that is nothing more than a set of vowels and consonants floating in the air, it is inevitable to feel a little boycotted," he commented in 2023.
The controversial marketing strategy
Three years later, Depp's name heads the poster for a Christmas movie for the whole family, produced by a major studio, Paramount, and co-starring figures of the stature of Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint and Daisy Ridley. Will Depp, like Scrooge after his redemption, manage to win the public's favor again?
Those responsible for promoting the film seem to be betting on it. The first trailer, published online in July, focuses precisely on Depp's return after his long period of ostracism.
"He brought us Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands and the Mad Hatter," read the signs. "This Thanksgiving, the master of misfits returns."
Depp himself appears in a series of brief, suggestive shots. About 30 seconds in, he grimaces at the camera and whispers, "It's good to be back."
Maureen Ryan, author of the book Burn It Down: Power, Complacency and a Call for Change in Hollywood, doesn't seem to get into the Christmas spirit.
"Personally, I think that making this return the focus of a light-hearted promotional campaign is, to say the least, in bad taste and unattractive," he tells the BBC.
The BBC has contacted Paramount for comment.
image copyrightGetty Images
Most comments on YouTube were more enthusiastic: "It's great to see it back! I'll definitely go see it on the first day" was a representative comment.
However, an article by Emily Lawford in the New Statesman, published after the trailer's premiere, was headlined "Johnny Depp is back, so the #MeToo movement is dead for good."
Ryan sees the issue as more complex: "In Hollywood, things tend to happen in cycles, including attempts to reform the industry," he says.
He adds: "From time to time, those in power in the sector express regret for the worst excesses, talk about changing the culture of the industry and, in some cases, even succeed. But now we may be at the height of the refusal to allow industry figures to face even moderate consequences for their actions."
Depp's supporters maintain that he was the one who suffered an injustice. In fact, the actor himself stated in a 2025 interview that Heard's accusations turned him into a kind of "test dummy" for the #MeToo movement.
Furthermore, after winning the trial, Depp benefited from the image he has always projected, that of a "rock and roll buccaneer." Therefore, the dissolute side that came to light during the judicial proceedings largely fit with the "very defined personality and brand" he already had, explains Mark Borkowski, public relations expert and author of The Fame Formula.
In any case, Borkowski adds, a star's status can survive a court verdict: "It really all depends on what the public feels about you, how you make them feel. It's, to a certain extent, a form of alchemy."
Thanks to that "alchemy", Depp's cancellation was limited in scope. When he said in 2023 that he felt "boycotted," he was on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival as a co-star of the French historical drama Jeanne du Barry.
That same year he directed the film Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness (Modigliani, three days in Montparnasse) and continued to be the image of Dior's Sauvage fragrance.
Heard's professional career has been very different: she appeared alongside Jason Momoa in Aquaman, the DC superhero blockbuster released in 2018, but her role in the 2023 sequel, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," was much smaller.
Since then, he has not participated in any film again.
Depp maintains his attractiveness on screen
The possibility of Depp returning was always open.
"Hollywood is a place of redemption, as long as they see money involved," says Borkowski, who assures that "that is the key point."
"Everything revolves around money," he says.
He also points out that, during the trials, Depp's followers gave him resounding support both online and outside the courthouse. That suggests the actor can still draw audiences to movie theaters.
The new film Ebenezer, comments Borkowski, is "a step forward, without a doubt," and has "a whole strategy behind it."
Karen McNally, professor of American film, television, and cultural history at London Metropolitan University and editor of Women in Hollywood's Dream Factory: Tales of Inequality, Abuse, and Resistance, points out a key factor: Although the trailer highlights Depp's return, the prosthetic makeup means he is effectively "disguised."
Its appearance is completely different from the one captured by the judicial illustrators during the trials.
"That internal conflict always arises when you watch movies starring someone you've read terrible things about. Do I want to keep seeing this person? Should I keep watching them? But it's easier to watch the movie when you focus on the character and leave aside the real person and all the ballast that comes with it," he says.
The use of "disguise" is also seen in the film's advertising campaign, in which the absence of interviews with Depp and the director, Ti West, is striking.
The actor did appear in character as Scrooge at the San Diego Comic-Con in July and at a promotional event held last week in Bryant Park, in New York.
image source, Reuters
On the other hand, Ebenezer has all the ingredients for a comeback, McNally says.
"It's a classic story, a nice, cozy Christmas movie that leaves you thinking about the outcome. If it's an optimistic movie in which the protagonist redeems himself, in the end you're left with a warm, positive feeling about Johnny Depp. I think it's going to be very good for him and it's going to serve the purpose he's looking for."
Most signs point in that direction. In August, Puck News' Matthew Belloni reported on a test screening of Ebenezer hosted by Paramount. "Depp scored 86 (out of 100)," he said. "It is a very high number for any actor, given that the average for a leading man is 67, and even more so for someone who just a few years ago was considered an outcast that no one wanted to hire."
For its part, the industry analysis and forecasting site Box Office Theory estimates that Ebenezer will gross US$22 million in its opening weekend and more than US$100 million in total at the US box office. It's a considerable figure for a film with a declared budget of US$38 million.
"The facts speak for themselves," a representative for Depp tells the BBC. "Both the public and the industry are incredibly excited about this moment." And if Ebenezer proves a success, it could pave the way for a larger, more lucrative Hollywood project.
In August, Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, told Deadline that the saga would be relaunched with Depp back at the helm.
Meanwhile, we can see him in Day Drinker, a supernatural thriller co-starring Penélope Cruz and directed by Marc Webb scheduled for release in March of next year.
Like Ebenezer's, the trailer appears to focus as much on the actor as the character he plays.
"Did you think it was over?" he says in a threatening tone and with an accent that is probably intended to be Irish. "I'll finish when I say I'm done," he proclaims.
You may be right.
Ebenezer was released in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, on November 12, and in the United States and the United Kingdom on the 13th.
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