Johnny Depp Becomes Scrooge and Ian McKellen Plays Marley’s Ghost in the Second Trailer for ‘Ebenezer’

Paramount Pictures has released the second trailer for ‘Ebenezer’, a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Johnny Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge, and Ian McKellen appears as the ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley.

The film opens in US theaters on November 13, 2026. Paramount released the first trailer back in the summer, and the new clip shows the movie’s dark style in considerably more detail.

‘A Christmas Carol’ Moves Closer to Horror

The plot keeps the foundation of Dickens’s classic 1843 novella. Wealthy and embittered, Scrooge despises Christmas and everyone around him — until one night the ghost of Marley comes to him.

His dead partner warns Scrooge that three spirits will visit him — the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. They force him to see the consequences of his own actions and decide whether he is ready to change his life.

The new version puts more emphasis on the story’s gothic and horror elements. Ti West, known for ‘X,’ ‘Pearl’ and ‘MaXXXine,’ directed.

The director himself has said that since childhood he saw Dickens’s work not only as a Christmas classic but as a full-fledged dark ghost story. The second trailer follows that approach: the dark streets of Victorian London, unsettling supernatural scenes and the figure of Marley all look considerably more sinister than traditional family adaptations.

Rupert Grint and Daisy Ridley Also Star

Alongside Johnny Depp and Ian McKellen, the cast includes Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit.

Andrea Riseborough plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Tramell Tillman plays the Ghost of Christmas Present. The film also features Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin, Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber and Charlie Murphy.

Nathaniel Halpern wrote the screenplay. A detailed synopsis is available on the film’s official website.

For Depp, ‘Ebenezer’ marks one of his most prominent returns to big-studio Hollywood filmmaking after several years spent working mainly on independent and European projects.

The film has no connection to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ or ‘The Lord of the Rings’: the only similarity is that one project brings together actors audiences firmly associate with Jack Sparrow and Gandalf.