Johnny Depp has become a household name playing misunderstood freaks, oddballs and Disney-friendly scallywags, but in recent years Hollywood has made him something of a pariah.
“Ebenezer,” distributed by Paramount Pictures, is Depp’s first major Hollywood feature since he sued his ex-wife, Amber Heard, in 2019 over allegations of domestic violence, which he denied, and the explosive defamation lawsuit that followed.
Jurors found Depp and Heard liable for defamation, and they reached a settlement in 2022 — but not before testimony and documents entered into evidence revealed disturbing details, from a photo of feces on the couple’s shared bed (Depp blamed Heard, while Heard blamed their dog), to texts Depp wrote about burning and drowning his ex-wife and having sex with her “burnt corpse” (Depp said he was “not proud” of the messages, which he called “dark humor”).
Depp’s professional reputation had taken a beating long before he spoke out. He lost a similar defamation case in 2020 after British newspaper The Sun called him a “wife beater”, and was subsequently ousted from lucrative franchise roles in the next installment of the “Harry Potter” spin-off film series, “Fantastic Beasts” and “Pirates of the Caribbean 6”. Before that, Depp was mired in complex legal battles with his former business partners over his admittedly lavish spending. Rumors swirled about Depp’s lateness and unprofessionalism on set, amid a string of box office failures.
But the years have passed and Hollywood could cautiously welcome Depp into its fold. Thousands of Depp’s supporters have remained steadfastly and openly loyal to the star.
Social media reactions to the defamation trial have been overwhelmingly supportive of Depp, amid reports of a targeted smear campaign aimed at discrediting Heard. By the time the jurors reached their verdict, it seemed Depp had already been vindicated online.
Johnny Depp plays Ebenezer Scrooge in “Ebenezer”. Paramount Pictures
“Ebenezer” is positioning itself as Depp’s big comeback to Hollywood, with a splashy marketing campaign and excellent publicity for its struggling star.
“The Master of the Misfits returns,” declares one of the studio’s taglines, with marketing materials linking the film’s title character to the man who “brought us Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands and the Mad Hatter.”
Yet “Ebenezer” isn’t just another unsuitable role Depp could add to his resume. Scrooge’s life spanning nearly two centuries in the pop culture canon is proof that audiences love redemption stories. Is Depp about to get his?
Paramount certainly manifests this. The first shot of Depp as Scrooge in the trailer for “Ebenezer” breaks the fourth wall, as Depp delivers his line to the camera with a knowing expression: “It’s good to be back.”
Depp’s path to redemption depends on his commercial value
Paramount’s marketing campaign for “Ebenezer” relied heavily on Johnny Depp’s notoriety. Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Paramount
Casting Depp in “Ebenezer” was a gamble for Paramount, but a cheaper gamble than one might imagine. While Depp once raked in a $25 million advance for “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” the total budget for “Ebenezer” was $38 million.
The New York Times reported that Depp agreed to a pay cut of approximately $5 million in exchange for a larger share of the revenue if the film performed at the box office. In other words, for an established movie star, he was a steal.
Representatives for Depp and Paramount did not respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.
Paramount is certainly putting its weight behind “Ebenezer,” in the presumed hope that it will turn a profit in terms of ticket sales. Depp appeared in full Charles Dickens garb – top hat, overcoat, heavy prosthetics – for several promotional stunts, from New York’s Bryant Park Holiday Market to San Diego Comic-Con, where he drew an adoring crowd. According to the New York Times, a woman even shouted at him: “Take my baby!”
Trailers and posters for the film relied heavily on name recognition of the actor and character, betting on audiences to re-embrace both. As far as the promo is concerned, Depp and Scrooge are one and the same: a man with his feet in the fire, in search of salvation.
“The studio is trying to test the public’s willingness to embrace Johnny Depp again after all the personal crises,” said Tara Goodwin, founder of Goodwin Consulting and crisis PR veteran. “This allows him, through the character of Ebenezer, to be judged on his work rather than in a court of law or the court of public opinion.”
“A film, a publicity stunt, does not rebuild a reputation,” she added. “But it changes the conversation from his personal narrative to his professional narrative.”
Will that be enough to put the butts in the seats? As PR pros have told me time and time again, the public is more forgiving than you think, especially if the celebrity in question has nostalgia to exploit.
“Johnny Depp, his fans go back 40 years. They still remember him as the kid from ’21 Jump Street.’ In many ways, he is a symbol of Generation X,” said Ryan McCormick, co-founder and managing partner of Goldman McCormick PR. “Some of his iconic roles automatically take people to a different time, like when they were younger and maybe when the world wasn’t so crazy or intense.”
In this sense, Scrooge is the perfect character for Depp: a familiar face who learns to appreciate the generosity of others. It is the universal shortcut to second chances.
“Ebenezer” doesn’t have to be great, as long as it makes money
Johnny Depp interacts with a fan at San Diego Comic-Con 2026. Daniel Knighton/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Directed by horror director Ti West, “Ebenezer” is a scarier-than-usual adaptation of Dickens’ classic novel.
According to early reviews – including this one – “Ebenezer” is not a great film; it currently holds a 53% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of publication. I found it tasteless and tedious, caught somewhere between a banal Christmas parable and a Halloween scarefest.
Your opinion of Depp’s performance will depend on your tolerance for brutal commitment, as a prosthetic-laden Depp gesticulates and weaves his way through a series of ghostly encounters – clearly attempting to recapture the mischievous charm of Jack Sparrow, reincarnated as a 19th century grump.
But critics’ ratings probably won’t matter to Depp or the studios considering him for a job. Negative reviews are small potatoes if theaters are crowded and box office returns are strong.
“It’s the people who make the difference. It’s not the critics,” Goodwin said.
If people like him, Hollywood seems ready to hire Depp again. Sources told NBC News that a new “Pirates 6” script featuring Depp’s return as Sparrow has been released at Disney. Studio executives are reportedly waiting to see how “Ebenezer” is received before greenlighting “Pirates 6.”
In the meantime, Depp has already planned his next film: “Day Drinker,” a thriller starring Depp’s old friend Penélope Cruz, will be released by Lionsgate in March.
Mia Moody, a professor in the Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media at Baylor University, agrees with Goodwin and McCormick that the future of Depp’s comeback will depend heavily on the box office. The meta-narrative of “Ebenezer” as a long-standing gospel – that no one, not even the stupidest among us, is beyond redemption – is mostly a bonus.
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