San Diego Comic-Con attendees expected the usual barrage of superhero announcements on Thursday, but they got a Victorian haunting instead. Johnny Depp walked the streets of the Gaslamp district around 2:30 p.m. in heavy prosthetics and a top hat. He was entirely in character as Ebenezer Scrooge. The surprise appearance kicked off the marketing campaign for Paramount Pictures’ upcoming holiday tentpole, Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol.
Directed by horror filmmaker Ti West, the project is a dark, gothic reimagining of the Charles Dickens classic. Paramount scheduled the theatrical release for November 13, 2026. The stunt caught thousands of fans off guard as Depp roamed the crowded sidewalks shouting “Humbug!” at onlookers.
The marketing team went all in on the bit. Depp spent the afternoon lingering outside a custom-built, 1880s-style Scrooge and Marley storefront erected specifically for the convention. Earlier in the week, the actor wiped his Instagram grid completely. He replaced his old posts with three images spelling out “BAH HUM BUG” alongside the first official teaser posters for the film.
West assembled a heavy-hitting British and international ensemble for the feature. The cast includes Rupert Grint, Sir Ian McKellen, Daisy Ridley, Andrea Riseborough, and Sam Claflin. While the director built his reputation on indie horror hits, this production scales his dark visual style up to a massive studio budget.
Paramount Tests the Waters for a Hollywood Comeback
This casting is a serious financial bet for Paramount Pictures. Ebenezer marks Depp’s first major studio lead since he departed Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018. Following years of highly publicized legal battles, the actor largely worked on European independent films to rebuild his portfolio.
Putting him front and center at Comic-Con signals a shift in Hollywood’s risk assessment. Paramount clearly believes international box office numbers and established fan goodwill outweigh any lingering domestic controversy. By putting him in unrecognizable prosthetics and leaning heavily into the character work that originally made him famous, the studio is selling the performance first and the celebrity second.