Paramount Celebrates Johnny Depp's Return

Paramount is rolling the holiday dice on a man whose last decade has played out as much in courtrooms as on screen. The studio is positioning Johnny Depp's turn as Ebenezer Scrooge in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol as a full-fledged return to Hollywood's top tier—and making him the face of its Thanksgiving release slate, per the New York Times. "The master of misfits returns," the film teaser declares, before cutting to a heavily made-up Depp rasping, "It's good to be back." It's his first major Hollywood role in nearly eight years, after studios cut ties amid domestic-abuse allegations he denied and a 2022 defamation trial he ultimately won.

Whether audiences are ready is the $38 million question. Early signs suggest interest: more than 6 million trailer views in 18 hours and a Comic-Con stunt that drew hundreds of fans, some in full Depp cosplay. Polling shows his drawing power remains strong and his Q score likability rating has ticked up. Still, the Guardian's Stuart Heritage reminds viewers that a UK civil court found Depp had "repeatedly punched his wife in her head." He compares Paramount's promotion of the actor to "booking Bill Cosby for a film and calling him 'TV's Mr Sex.'" Ebenezer, directed by Ti West and co-starring Rupert Grint, Daisy Ridley, and Ian McKellen, opens Nov. 13.