Johnny Depp appears to be back.
The star, who has largely been working outside of the mainstream Hollywood system in recent years, took the stage during Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation on Thursday to debut his new movie Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol.
Depp walked out to Alex Warren hit “Ordinary,” in his signature hat, sunglasses and scarves, receiving hearty applause from the room of theater owners and distributors as he thanked them for the support and told them he loved them.
He explained he has been obsessed with “A Christmas Carol” “since I was a little kid,” and when he was first approached his immediate thought was that no one could match what Reginald Owen has done in the original movie in the ’30s.
“But that’s no reason not to attempt something,” Depp continued, commending director Ti West for doing “something very special. I was sort of just around for laughs.” The star then showed off some footage, as Depp appears unrecognizable — and reminiscent of Jim Carrey’s character in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. He’s gone gray, with a sharp nose and older features, and yet still some of that Jack Sparrow swagger. The classic story unfurls, with Scrooge throwing out plenty of “humbugs” and seeking to be left alone, until he’s haunted by three spirits that make him change his ways.
The cast includes Andrea Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Ian McKellen as Jacob Marley and Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit. Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin, Charlie Murphy, Arthur Conti and Ellie Bamber round out the ensemble. West helms the film from a script by Nathaniel Halpern that adapts Charles Dickens’ classic 1843 novella.
Hitting theaters Nov. 13, this project — along with Lionsgate’s upcoming Day Drinker, — mark Depp’s first foray into Hollywood studio fare since 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The actor was dropped from the next film in that Warner Bros. franchise after negative headlines amid his split from Amber Heard that led to contentious litigation.
CinemaCon is the annual event for exhibitors and Hollywood studios that runs this year from April 13-16. It is the official convention of Cinema United.
