Johnny Depp took over San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday, showing up in full Ebenezer Scrooge costume as Paramount transformed part of the Gaslamp District into a Victorian Christmas village to promote Ti West’s Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, which hits theaters November 13.
Update: trailer has been released.
Via Deadline, the stunt went down outside a mock 1880s “Scrooge and Marley” storefront, where a crowd had been gathering for more than an hour before the three-time Oscar nominee emerged, staying completely in character right down to a nose prosthetic.
Johnny Depp Stays In Character As Scrooge
Victorian carolers kicked things off with Christmas songs before Depp appeared in the shop window and then stepped out the front door to work the crowd.
When a fan called out, “Good day to you, Mr. Scrooge,” Depp fired back in character, “What’s so good about it?”
Another performer in Dickensian garb pressed Scrooge about fair wages, which earned nothing but grumbles.
Fans repeatedly shouted their love for the actor throughout the appearance, and before heading back inside, Depp left them with a quiet “Humbug.”
The stunt landed just after DC’s Jim Lee panel debuted the first trailer for Clayface, and Depp still walked away with the day at the con.
No Hall H panel, no footage, no Q&A. Just Scrooge on a San Diego street corner.
Depp’s Comic-Con History
This marks Depp’s third San Diego Comic-Con appearance.
In 2018, he showed up in Hall H in full Gellert Grindelwald costume during Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald panel, and back in 2009 he appeared alongside Tim Burton for Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.
Staying in costume is nothing new for Depp, who has said he used to travel with his Captain Jack Sparrow outfit so he could make surprise visits to children’s hospitals.
Everything We Know About Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol
The Comic-Con appearance capped a big day for the movie, as Paramount also released the first official poster Thursday, offering a first look at Depp as the miser with the tagline, “The name you know. The story you don’t.”
Ti West, the filmmaker behind the X, Pearl, and MaXXXine horror trilogy, directs from a script by Nathaniel Halpern. 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, along with Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin, Ellie Bamber, Charlie Murphy, Arthur Conti, and Henry Lloyd-Hughes.
Ebenezer is Depp’s first major Hollywood studio lead since 2018, continuing the comeback that has David Ellison’s Paramount making Johnny Depp great again. Depp debuted the first footage at CinemaCon back in April, and he follows this one with Lionsgate’s Day Drinker in 2027.
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol opens only in theaters on November 13, 2026.
